UC-NRLF 

KF 

228 

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B    2    AH5    tm 

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1860 

MAIN 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 
JANE  K.  SATHER 


THE 


LIFE,  TEIAL, 
CONFESSION   AND    EXECUTION 

OF 

ALBERT    W.    HICKS, 

THE   PIRATE  AND   MURDERER, 


EXECUTED   ON  BEDLOE'S  ISLAND, 

NEW  YORK  BAY, 

On  the  13th  of  July,  1860, 

FOR  THE  MURDER  OF   CAPT.  BURR,  SMITH  AND   OLIVER  WATTS, 
ON  BOARD  THE  OYSTER  SLOOP  E.  A,  JOHNSON. 

CONTAINING    THE    HISTORY   OP    HIS    LIFE    ^WRITTEN    BY   HIMSELF) 
FROM  CHILDHOOD   UP   TO   THE   TIME    OP    HIS   ARREST. 

WITH  A  FULL  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  PIRACIES,  MURDERS,  MUTINIES, 

HIGH- WAY  ROBBERIES,  ETC.,  COMPRISING  THE 

PARTICULARS  OF  NEARLY 

OISTE  HUNDRED  MUEDEE8! 

TO   WHICH    IS   ADDED 

THE  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  ARREST,  IMPRISONMENT,  TRIAL  AND  EXECUTION 

ALSO,  HIS  PHRENOLOGICAL  CHARACTER, 

AS   DESCRIBED   BY    L.  N.  FOWLER. 

Office  U.  S.  Marshal,         I 
Southern  District  of  New  York,  f 
I  hereby  certify  that  the  within  Confession  of  Albbkt  W.  Hicks  waa  made  by  him  to  me,  and 
that  It  is  the  only  confession  made  by  him. 

LORENZO  DE  ANGELIS,  Dep.  U.  &  Marshal. 


NEW  YORK: 

THE  DE  WITT  PUBLISHING  HOUSE, 

No.  33  Rose  Street. 


THE    CONFESSION    OF    HICKS— LETTER    FROM    ONE    OF    THE 
DEPUTY  MARSHALS. 

United  States  Marshal's  Office,  / 

New  York,  Thursday,  July  1*2, 1860.  J 
To  the  Editor  of  the  New  York  Times  : 

As  some  misapprehension  seems  to  exist  in  regard  to  my  connection  with 
the  publication  of  the  confession  of  Hicks,  to  be  executed  to-morrow  for 
piracy,  will  you  allow  me  to  say  a  few  words  in  explanation  ?  About  a 
month  ago,  Hicks  expressed  a  desire  to  make  a  full  confession  of  his  crimes, 
particularly  of  the  facts  in  relation  to  the  murders  on  the  sloop  E.  A.  John- 
son, that  the  same  might  be  published  for  the  benefit  of  his  wife  and  child, 
for  whom,  despite  of  his  cruel  nature,  he  manifests  a  very  warm  affection, 
and  he  earnestly  solicited  Marshal  Rynders  to  hear  his  confession,  and 
superintend  its  publication. 

Marshal  Rynders,  in  compliance  with  this  desire,  selected  me  to  attend  to 
the  matter,  inasmuch  as  during  the  whole  time  Hicks  had  been  in  the 
custody  of  the  United  States  authorities  it  had  been  my  duty  to  attend 
upon  him. 

The  Confession  was  made  directly  to  me  and  Mr.  G.  "W.  Clackner,  he 
writing  down  the  statement,  as  nearly  as  possible,  word  for  word  as  it  came 
from  the  mouth  of  Hicks.  After  which,  the  Confession  was  prepared  for 
the  press,  and  an  arrangement  made  with  Mr.  R.  M.  DeWitt  for  its  publica- 
tion. Every  cent  of  the  money  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  Confession 
will  be  applied  to  the  use  of  the  widow  and  child,  and  the  wretched 
man  will  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  does  not  leave  them 
entirely  destitute  and  dependent  upon  the  charity  of  the  world. 

Neither  myself  nor  any  officer  or  person  in  any  way  connected  with  the 
Marshal's  office  has  received  or  will  receive  the  slightest  compensation, 
immediate  or  prospective,  for  their  trouble  and  labor  in  procuring  and  pre 
paring  for  publication  the  said  Confession. 

I  have  acted  in  the  matter  solely  from  sympathetic  motives,  and  I  think  I 
have  the  right  to  say,  without  boasting,  that  I  have  neglected  nothing  con- 
sistent with  my  duty  which  might  add  to  the  comfort  of  the  condemned, 
furnishing  him,  at  my  own  individual  expense,  such  little  luxuries  as  the 
regular  prison  fare  did  not  afford  him,  and  paying  out  of  my  own  pocket 
the  board  of  his  wife  and  child  during  his  incarceration.  I  only  mention 
these  facts,  to  show  that  I  have  not  been  influenced  by  interested  motives, 
but  that  in  attending  to  the  publication  of  his  Confession,  which,  as  a  dying 
man,  he  asserts  is  in  every  particular  true,  I  have  only  acted  from  feelings 
of  humanity  and  consideration  for  a  fellow-being  placed  in  his  dreadful 
situation. 

He  has  expressed  a  wish  to  the  Marshal  that  I  shall  be  near  him  during 
his  last  moments,  a  request  which  will  be  complied  with,  and  I  shall  ask 
him  to  acknowledge  or  deny  with  his  latest  breath  the  truth  of  what  I 
assert.     Yours  very  truly, 

Lorenzo  De  Angelis. 

LOAN  STACK 

Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  I860,  by 

ROBERT   M.  DE  WITT, 

In  im  Cleik's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of  Mew  ToA. 


-mm 


& 


tC 


THE   TRIAL  ^ 

ALBERT  W.  HICKS, 

FOR    PIRACY 

ON  BOARD  THE  SLOOP 

EDWIN    A.   JOHNSON. 


UNITED   STATES  CIRCUIT   COURT. 

Before    Hon.    Judge    Smalley. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CASE. 

On  Thursday,  March  16th,  the  sloop  UE.  A.  Johnson,"  sailed  from  the  foot 
of  SpriDg  street,  New  York,  for  Deep  Creek,  Va.,  for  a  cargo  of  oysters. 

The  same  sloop  was  ashore  near  Tottenville,  S.  I.  on  Friday,  getting 
scrubbed,  and  having  some  carpenter  work  done.  There  she  laid  till  Sunday 
morning,  when  she  floated  off,  and  proceeded  down  the  Bay. 

Again,  she  arrived  in  Gravesend  Bay  on  Sunday  afternoon,  and  remained 
there  waiting  for  a  fair  wind  until  Tuesday  at  sunset,  w^en  she  set  out  to 
sea,  Captain  Burr,  a  man  by  the  name  of  Wm.  Johnson,  and  two  boys,  named 
Smith  and  Oliver  Watts,  being  on  board. 

The  next  morning,  Wednesday  the  22d  of  March,  the  sloop  was  picked  up 
by  the  schooner  u  Telegraph"  of  New  London,  in  the  lower  bay,  between 
the  West  Bank  and  the  Romer  Shoals.  On  being  boarded,  she  was  found  to 
have  been  abandoned,  as  also  to  bear  the  most  unmistakable  evidences  of  foul 
play  having  taken  place  at  some  time,  not  remote.  It  was  also  evident  that 
a  collision  had  taken  place  with  some  other  vessel,  as  her  bowsprit  had  been 
carried  away,  and  was  then  floating  alongside,  attached  to  her  by  the  stays. 
Upon  further  examination,  her  deck  appeared  to  have  been  washed  with 
human  blood,  and  her  cabin  bore  dire  marks  of  a  desperate  struggle  for  life, 

J 


8  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

The  Telegraph  made  fast  to  her,  and  started  for  the  city,  but  was  failing  in 
the  effort  (as  both  vessels  were  fast  drifting  ashore),  when  the  towboat  Ceres, 
Captain  Stevens,  being  in  the  neighborhood,  took  thera  in  tow,  and  brought 
them  both  up  to  the  city,  when  they  were  moored  in  the  Fulton  Market 
slip. 

The  story  of  bloody  traces  was  at  once  communicated  to  the  Police  Au- 
thorities, and  soon  it  spread  throughout  the  city  that  a  terrible  massacre  had 
taken  place.  Speculation  accused  river  pirates  of  the  crime,  but  there  was  a 
doubt  on  the  public  mind.  Throughout  Wednesday,  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  case  were  canvaesed  thoroughly,  but  no  new  light  could  be 
obtained  as  to  the  mystery.  The  daily  press  served  up  the  story  to  the  pub- 
lic on  Thursday  morning.  Scarcely  had  the  papers  been  issued  when  two 
men,  named  John  Burke  and  Andrew  Kelly,  residents  of  a  low  tenement 
house,  No.  129  Cedar  street,  called  at  second  ward  station  house,  and  gave 
such  information  as  led  the  officers  to  the  conclusion  that  one  of  the  hands 
who  had  sailed  on  board  the  sloop  "  Johnson  "  from  the  foot  of  Spring  street, 
was  implicated  in  the  mysterious  transaction.  They  said  that  a  man,  named 
Johnson,  who  had  lived  in  the  same  house  with  them,  had  come  home  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly  the  previous  day,  having  with  him  an  unusual 
amount  of  money,  which  he  said  he  had  received  as  prize  money  for  picking 
up  a  sloop  in  the  lower  bay.  They  gave  the  man's  description,  told  which 
way  he  had  gone  with  his  wife  and  child.  Immediately  Officer  Nevins  and 
Captain  Smith  started  on  their  way  toward  Providence,  to  which  city  they 
had  reason  to  believe  Johnson  had  gone. 

Meantime,  other  facts  came  to  light  in  connection  with  the  mystery.  The 
ill-fated  sloop  had  run  into  the  schooner  "  John  B.  Mathew,"  Captain 
Nickerson,  early  on  Wednesday  morning,  at  which  time  only  one  man  was 
seen  on  board,  and  this  man  was  subsequently  observed  to  lower  the  boat 
from  the  stern,  and  leave  the  sloop.  This  collision  took  place  just  off  Staten 
Island,  and  was  so  severe  as  to  render  the  "  John  B.  Mathew  "  unfit  for  sea. 
Hence,  she  returned  to  the  city  for  repairs. 

On  the  same  afternoon  that  the  officers  started  after  Johnson,  officers  Bur- 
dett  and  James,  accompanied  by  our  reporter,  set  out  in  search  of  the  yawl 
belonging  to  the  sloop,  which  was  said  to  be  adrift  off  Staten  Island.  This 
they  succeeded  in  finding,  and  bringing  to  the  city,  after  a  tedious  passage 
on  a  rough  sea  with  a  cold  wind.  The  boat  contained  two  oars,  a  right  boot, 
a  tiller,  and  part  of  an  old  broom.  George  Nedlinger,  the  hostler  at  Fort 
Richmond,  south  of  which  the  boat  was  found,  said  that  shortly  before  six 
o'clock  the  previous  morning,  he  had  seen  a  man  land  from  the  boat,  whom 
he  described  in  such  a  manner  as  to  show  that  Johnson  might  be  the  indi- 
vidual. 

It  was  next  ascertained  that  a  man  answering  the  same  description  had 
made  himself  conspicuous  at  the  Vanderbilt  landing,  where  he  had  indulged 
freely  in  oysters,  hot  gins,  and  eggs.  He  was  seen  on  the  seven  o'clock  boat 
coming  up  to  New  York,  by  a  deck-hand,  who  had,  by  his  own  solicitation, 
counted  a  portion  of  his  money,  which  he  carried  in  two  small  bags,  like 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  V 

shot-bags.  Here  the  matter  rested  for  a  short  time,  while  the  people  were 
waiting  for  news  from  the  officers  at  Providence.  It  was  during  this  intei* 
val  that  our  artist  succeeded  in  procuring  the  sketches  herewith  presented. 

Meantime  the  sloop  lying  at  the  Fulton  Market  Slip  was  attended,  day 
after  day,  by  multitudes  of  the  curious  and  the  excited.  The  story  of  blood 
was  the  topic  of  conversation,  and  the  spirit  of  revenge  found  a  limited  re- 
lief in  verbal  expressions  of  bitter  desire  for  the  punishment  of  the  perpe- 
trator, if  he  should  be  arrested. 

Mr.  Selah  Howell,  of  Islip,  L.  I.,  part  owner  of  the  sloop,  was  on  hand. 
He  suspected  William  Johnson,  the  man  who  took  supper  with  Captain 
Burr  and  himself  in  the  cabin,  on  the  evening  before  the  sloop  left  the  city. 
The  theory  that  the  murder  had  been  committed  by  one  of  the  crew  favored 
this  suspicion,  and  the  idea  floated  from  ear  to  ear  until  it  became  a  settled 
conclusion  in  every  mind.  Mr.  Howell  viewed  the  boat,  and  identified  it  as 
belonging  to  the  sloop. 

The  carman,  who  conveyed  Johnson's  baggage  to  the  Fall  River  steam- 
Doat,  also  described  the  man  who  had  employed  him,  and  the  woman  wh< 
was  with  him. 

During  Friday,  Captain  Weed  and  Mr.  Howell  searched  the  cabin  of  the 
sloop,  and  found  in  the  captain's  berth  a  clean  linen  coat  and  a  clean  shirt, 
both  neatly  folded  up,  and  each  of  them  cut  through  the  folds  as  if  with  a 
sharp  knife.  The  coat  had  a  sharp,  clean  cut,  about  seven  inches  long, 
through  every  fold  ;  the  shirt  had  some  shorter  cuts  in  it.  They  ascertained 
that  an  auger,  which  lay  on.  the  cabin  floor,  had  been  used  to  bore  two  holes 
immediately  behind  the  stove,  for  the  purpose  of  letting  off  the  blood,  which 
constituted  a  little  sea.  Instead  of  running  off,  it  collected  in  the  run  be- 
neath, where  it  remains.  In  brief,  the  cabin,  the  deck,  and  the  starboard 
side  of  the  vessel  bore  the  most  unmistakable  evidences  of  a  tremendous 
crime  having  been  committed  on  board,  and  committed  with  the  utmost 
regard  to  a  previously  arranged  plan  in  the  mind  of  the  murderer,  for  three 
persons  had  been  dispatched,  two  on  deck  and  one  in  the  cabin. 

Public  excitement  continued  on  the  increase ;  the  public  were  waiting 
with  all  anxiety  for  a  report  from  the  pursuing  officers,  when,  on  Friday 
night,  at  a  late  hour,  a  dispatch  was  received  from  Providence,  intimating 
that  the  murderer  had  been  tracked  to  a  private  house,  where  he  had  taken 
lodgings,  and  would  be  arrested  during  the  night.  On  Saturday,  this  news 
having  been  ventilated,  the  public  excitement  became  greatly  intensified, 
and  it  was  anticipated  that  an  effort  would  be  made  to  lynch  the  prisoner  on 
his  arrival  in  the  city.  Crowds  repaired  to  the  railway  depot,  at  Twenty- 
seventh  street  and  Fourth  avenue,  also  at  Forty-second  street,  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  Harlem  Railroad.  At  5  o'clock,  p.m.,  the  train  arrived,  contain- 
ing the  officers  and  their  prisoner.  But  the  multitudes  who  waited  and 
looked  for  the  prisoner  were  doomed  to  disappointment,  for  the  officers  had 
prepared  themselves  before  reaching  the  city  for  avoiding  any  attack  from 
infuriated  mobs,  by  taking  tbeir  places  in  the  first  or  baggage  car,  thus 
avoiding  suspicion.     In  this  way  they  came  down  to  the  lower  depot,  and 


10  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

were  transferred  to  an  express  wagon,  and  rolled  down  to  the  Second  Ward 
station  house. 


THE   ARREST   AND   HOW   IT   WAS   EFFECTED. 

We  give  the  account  of  the  arrest  in  the  words  of  Officer  Nevins: 
-  Captain  Smith  and  myself  left  the  city  on  Thursday,  in  the  twelve  o'clock 
train  of  the  Long  Shore  Eailroad,  for  Stonington  and  Providence.  The 
same  afternoon  we  arrived  at  Stonington,  and  went  on  board  the  Stonington 
boat  Commonwealth,  to  make  inquiries  for  a  sailor  man,  his  wife,  and  child. 
The  boat  arrived  that  morning  about  two  o'clock,  and  of  course  our  only 
chance  of  getting  trace  of  the  murderer  was  from  the  officers  of  the  boat. 
We  heard  of  several  women  and  children,  but  they  did  not  answer  the 
description  ;  so  we  waited  until  nine  o'clock  that  night,  when  Mr.  Howard, 
the  baggage-master,  arrived  in  the  Boston  night  train.  He  gave  us  informa- 
tion of  two  or  three  different  women  who  stopped  on  the  route  between 
Stonington  and  Boston.  The  description  of  one  man,  woman,  and  child, 
who  stopped  at  Canton,  Massachusetts,  was  so  near,  that  on  the  arrival  of 
the  boat  from  New  York,  at  two  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  we  left  in  the 
train  which  carried  forward  her  passengers.  On  arriving  at  Canton,  how- 
ever, we  found  that  the  woman  was  not  the  one  we  were  in  search  of,  so 
we  immediately  returned  to  Providence,  being  satisfied  that  the  murderer 
could  not  have  taken  the  Stonington  route.  In  Providence  we  called  upon 
Mr.  George  Billings,  detective  officer,  who,  with  several  other  officers,  cheer- 
fully rendered  us  every  assistance.  We  drove  around  the  city  to  all  the 
sailor  boarding-houses,  and  to  all  the  railroad  depots,  questioning  baggage- 
masters  and  every  one  likely  to  give  us  information,  but  could  get  no  satis- 
factory clew,  so  we  concluded  they  had  probably  come  by  the  Fall  River 
route,  and  Captain  Smith  went  down  to  the  steamboat  Bradford  Durfee,  to 
make  inquiry  there.  The  deck-hand  remembered  that  on  the  previous  morn- 
ing a  sailor  and  a  little  sore-eyed  woman  and  child  came  up  with  them,  and 
asked  him  if  he  knew  any  quiet  boarding-house,  in  a  retired  part  of  the  city, 
where  he  could  go  for  a  few  weeks.  He  told  him  he  did  not,  but  referred 
him  to  a  hackman,  who  took  him  off  to  a  distant  part  of  the  city.  The  hack- 
man  was  soon  found,  and  at  once  recollected  the  circumstances,  and  where 
he  had  taken  the  party.  It  was  then  arranged,  to  guard  against  accidents, 
that  the  hackman  should  go  into  the  house,  and  inquire  of  the  landlady  if 
tliis  man  was  in,  pretending  that  two  of  the  three  quarter  dollars  which  he 
had  given  him  were  counterfeit.  He  went  there,  and  the  landlady  told  him 
that  the  man  was  not  in,  but  would  be  in  that  night.  Arrangements  were 
then  made  for  a  descent  upon  the  house  at  two  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning. 
At  this  hour  I  knocked  at  the  door,  and  at  first  the  landlady  did  not  seem 
inclined  to  let  me  in.  I  told  her  I  was  au  officer  who  had  arrested  the  hack- 
man  for  passing  counterfeit  quarters,  and  as  he  had  stated  that  he  got  them 
from  the  sailor,  I  had  come  to  satisfy  myself  of  the  truth  of  the  story.  She 
opened  the  door,  and  we  went  up  to  this  man's  room,  some  seven  or  eight 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  11 

of  us,  and  found  him  in  bed,  apparently  asleep.  I  woke  him  up,  and  he  im- 
mediately began  to  sweat — God,  how  he  did  sweat !  I  charged  him  with 
passing  counterfeit  money,  because  I  did  not  want  his  wife  to  know  what  the 
real  charge  was.  We  got  his  baggage  together,  and  took  him  with  it  to  the 
watch-house.  I  searched  him,  and  found  in  his  pocket  the  silver  watch,  since 
identified  as  Oapt.  Burr's,  also,  his  knife,  pipe,  and  among  the  rest,  two  small 
canvas  bags,  which  have  since  been  identified  as  those  used  by  the  captain 
to  carry  his  silver.  In  his  pocket-book  was  $121,  mostly  in  five  and  ten  dol- 
lar bills  of  the  Farmers'  and  Citizens'  Bank  of  Brooklyn.  There  was  no  gold 
in  his  possession.  I  didn't  take  his  wife's  baggage,  and  I  felt  so  bad  for  her 
that  I  gave  her  $10  of  the  money.  Poor  woman !  as  it  was  she  cried  bitterly, 
but  if  she  had  known  what  her  husband  was  really  charged  with,  it  would 
have  been  awful.  I  took  the  $6  from  the  landlady  that  he  had  paid  in  ad- 
vance, because  I  didn't  know  but  the  money  might  be  identified.  When  we 
got  him  to  the  watch-house,  I  told  him  to  let  me  see  his  hands,  for  if  he  was  a 
counterfeiter,  and  not  a  sailor,  as  he  represented,  I  could  tell.  He  turned  up 
his  palms,  and  said,  "  Those  are  sailor's  hands."  I  said  yes,  and  they  are  big 
ones,  too ;  and  then  I  told  him  I  did  not  want  him  for  counterfeiting,  and  he 
replied,  "I  thought  as  much."  So  I  up  and  told  him  what  he  was  charged 
with,  and  he  declared  upon  his  soul  that  he  was  innocent,  and  knew  nothing 
of  the  matter,  and  was  never  on  the  sloop.  I  don't  think  his  wife  knew  any- 
thing about  it.  Some  time  before  he  had  picked  up  a  yacht,  and  was  to  get 
$300  salvage,  and  when  he  came  home  so  flush  with  money  he  told  his  wife 
he  had  got  the  prize  money.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  go  on  to  New  York 
quietly  with  us,  or  stay  in  jail  ten  or  fifteen  days  for  a  requisition.  He  said 
he  would  go  with  us,  and  we  started  at  7  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  be- 
haved so  coolly  and  indifferently  that  I  at  one  time  almost  concluded  we  had 
mistaken  our  man.  At  the  New  London  depot  there  was  an  immense  crowd 
of  people  waiting  to  see  the  prisoner,  and,  when  we  went  through  the  crowd, 
they  cried  out,  "There's  the  murderer;  lynch  him — lynch  him!"  I  told 
him  that  I  would  shoot  the  first  man  who  touched  him.  At  every  station 
after  that,  as  we  came  through  there  were  large  crowds  curious  to  see  the 
prisoner. 


THE   IDENTIFICATION   OF   THE   PRISONER. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  prisoner,  the  man  John  Burke,  with  whom  he 
had  lived  in  Cedar  street,  was  confronted  with  the  prisoner,  whom  he  iden- 
tified at  once  as  William  Johnson,  the  man  who,  with  his  wife  and  child,  had 
left  No.  129  Cedar  street  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  and  went  on  the  Fall 
River  boat.  Mr.  Simmons  also  stepped  forward,  and  recognized  the  pri- 
soner as  one  of  the  hands  who  sailed  from  this  port  with  Captain  Burr  on 
board  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson.  Upon  being  asked  if  he  knew  Captain  Burr, 
he  said  he  did  not,  he  never  saw  him,  and  never  sailed  in  the  vessel  com- 
manded by  him. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  an  old  man,  named  Charles  La  Coste,  who  keeps  a 


12  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

eoffee  and  cake  staii  d  near  the  East  Broadway  stage  terminus  at  the  South 
Ferry,  identified  Johnson  as  the  man  who,  on  Wednesday  morning  last,  at 
about  eight  o'clock,  stopped  opposite  to  his  stand,  apparently  looking  to  see 
what  he  sold  thereat,  when  he  asked  him  if  he  wanted  some  coffee.  He 
afterward  went  into  the  booth  and  sat  down,  leaving  what  appeared  to  be 
his  clothes-bag  outside  against  the  railings.  He  had  coffee  and  cakes  which 
amounted  to  the  sum  of  six  cents.  When  about  to  leave,  he  handed  him  a 
ten-dollar  gold  piece  in  payment,  when  he  asked  him  if  he  had  no  less 
change.  He  said  he  had,  and  pulled  from  his  pocket  a  handful  of  gold,  sil 
ver,  and  some  cents,  and,  abstracting  half  a  dime  and  a  cent  paid  his  bill. 
About  this  time  some  boot-blacks  came  round,  and  wanted  to  black  his 
boots.  He  looked  down  at  his  feet,  and  said  his  boots  were  not  worth  the 
trouble.  He  then  asked  if  he  could  get  a  carriage,  when  La  Coste  told  him 
it  was  too  early ;  he  ought  to  get  into  an  East  Broadway  stage,  and  ride  up 
to  French's  Hotel,  as  he  had  asked  for  the  whereabouts  of  a  respectable 
place  to  put  up  at.  To  this  suggestion  he  demurred,  when  a  newsboy  came 
up  to  him,  took  hold  of  his  bag,  and  implored  him  for  the  privilege  of  con- 
veying his  bag  to  any  given  point  of  the  metropolis.  The  boy  took  the  bag 
and  followed  the  man. 

At  a  later  hour  the  prisoner  was  brought  from  his  cell  and  taken  into  the 
officers'  room  in  the  back  part  of  the  station  house,  where  a  promiscuous  as- 
semblage of  men  had  gathered  in.  The  prisoner  took  his  place  among  them. 
The  boy,  Win.  Drum,  was  then  brought  into  the  room,  and  in  a  moment 
rested  his  finger  upon  the  man  whose  clothes-bag  he  had  carried  from  La 
Ooste's  stand  to  the  house  No.  129  Cedar  street,  one  morning  last  week, 
about  eight  o'clock ;  he  did  not  recollect  which  morning.  The  man  thus 
pointed  out  was  the  prisoner.  The  same  boy  immediately  afterward  saw  the 
bag,  and  identified  it  as  the  one  which  he  had  carried  from  the  South  Ferry 
to  Cedar  street.  He  asked  Johnson  fifty  cents  for  the  job,  but,  on  his  refu- 
sal, he  compromised,  and  took  three  shillings. 

Abram  Egbert  was  introduced  in  the  same  manner  as  the  boy,  and  selected 
Johnson  as  the  man  who  spoke  to  him  on  the  bridge  of  the  Vanderbilt  land- 
ing, on  Staten  Island,  last,  Wednesday  morning,  between  six  and  seven 
o'clock.     He  was  not  certain,  but  he  thought  he  was  the  man. 

Augustus  Gisler,  the  boy  who  sold  Johnson  the  oyster  stew,  the  eggs,  and 
the  numerous  hot  gins,  was  also  introduced  in  the  same  manner.  He  at 
once  pointed  out  Johnson,  and  said,  "  That  is  the  man." 

Another  little  boy,  who  had  asked  to  black  Johnson's  boots,  at  the  South 
Ferry,  was  introduced.  He  looked  carefully  through  the  crowd,  repeatedly 
fastening  his  eyes  upon  Johnson.  The  boy  at  last  stopped  opposite  Johnson 
again ;  the  prisoner  noticed  this,  made  a  contortion,  and  turned  away  his 
face,  when  the  boy  said  he  could  not  see  the  man.  The  prisoner  was  then 
taken  back  to  his  cell,  and  his  baggage  underwent  an  examination  in  one  of 
the  rooms  of  the  station  house. 

The  first  article  identified  was  Capt.  Burr's  watch,  which  was  found  in 
the  prisoner's  possession  by  the  detectives  who  arrested  him.     This  watch 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE. 


IS 


the  prisoner  said  he  had  had  in  his  possession  for  3  years.  It  was  handed  to 
Mr.  Henry  Seaman,  an  old  friend  of  Captain  Burr's,  who  after  looking  at  it 
for  about  t.alf  a  minute,  pronounced  it  to  be  Captain  Burr's  watch  ;  but  to 
be  certain,  he  would  not  open  it  until  he  had  procured  the  necessary  testi- 
mony to  prove  it.  After  a  short  absence  he  returned  with  a  slip  of  paper 
from  Mr.  Seth  P.  Squire,  watchmaker  and  jeweller,  No.  182  Bowery,  to 
whom  it  appears  he  had  taken  it  to  be  cleaned  nearly  a  year  ago,  at  the 
request  of  Captain  Burr.  The  following  was  the  memorandum  contained  on 
the  slip : 


Mr.  Burr, 

D  B  Silver  Lever  Watch, 

J.  Johnson,  Liverpool,  No.  21,310. 

Cleaned  April  5, 1859     , 

by  S.  P.  Squire, 

The  watch  was  then  opened,  and  the  name  of  the  maker  and  the  number 
of  the  watch  found  to  correspond  exactly  with  the  name  and  number  on  the 
slip.  By  this  means  the  watch  was  fully  identified.  Two  small  bags,  which 
Johnson  said  he  had  made  himself,  were  also  identified  by  Mr.  Seaman,  and 
Mr.  Simmons,  of  Barnes  &  Simmons,  as  having  been  the  property  of  Captain 
Burr. 

Mr.  Edward  Watts,  brother  of  Smith  Watts,  identified  the  daguerreotype 
found  in  the  pocket  of  a  coat  belonging  to  Oliver  Watts,  which  was  found  in 
Johnson's  clothes-bag,  after  his  arrest,  as  that  of  a  young  lady  friend  ef  his 
brother,  living  in  Islip,  L.  I. 

Captain  Baker,  engaged  in  the  oyster  business  in  the  Spring  street  market, 
recognized  the  prisoner  as  a  man  whom  he  had  seen  on  board  the  sloop  E. 
A.  Johnson.     He  was  certain  of  the  man,  as  he  had  frequently  seen  him. 

Mr.  Selah  Howell,  taking  a  position  right  in  front  of  the  prisoner,  as  he 
stood  in  his  cell,  at  once  identified  him  as  the  man  who  took  supper  with 
Captain  Burr  and  himself,  on  board  the  sloop,  the  night  before  she  sailed. 

Mr.  George  Neidlinger,  the  hostler  who  saw  the  man  leave  the  yawl-boat 
on  the  Staten  Island  beach,  just  south  of  Fort  Richmond,  identified  the 
prisoner  as  that  man.  He  also  identified  a  glazed  cap  found  in  Hick's  bag- 
gage as  the  cap  he  had  on  that  morning. 

Mr.  Michael  Dunnan  also  identified  Hicks  as  the  man  whom  he  had  met 
on  the  road  between  Fort  Richmond  and  the  Vanderbilt  landing,  last  Wed- 
nesday, about  six  o'clock. 


HIS   INTERVIEW    WITH    HIS    WIFE. 


The  wife  of  Hicks  arrived  in  this  city  from  Providence,  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, and  in  company  with  John  Burk  visited  her  husband  at  the  station 


14  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

house.  She  stated  that  on  Friday  evening  last  she  got  a  New  York  paper, 
and  seeing  in  it  the  story  of  the  "  sloop  murder,"  proceeded  to  read  it  to  her 
husband  in  their  room,  but  before  finishing  it  he  said  he  was  sleepy  and 
wanted  to  go  to  bed,  and  she  had  better  stop  reading. 

When  taken  down  to  the  cell  in  which  her  husband  was  locked  up,  she 
broke  out  upon  him  in  the  most  vituperative  language,  charging  him  with 
Deing  a  bloody  villain.  She  held  her  child  up  in  front  of  the  cell  door,  and 
exclaimed,  u  Look  at  your  offspring,  you  rascal,  and  think  what  you  have 
brought  on  us.  If  I  could  get  in  rft  you  I  would  pull  your  bloody  heart  out." 
The  prisoner  looked  at  her  very  coolly,  and  quietly  replied,  "  Why,  my  dear 
wife,  I've  done  nothing — it  will  be  all  out  in  a  day  or  two."  The  poor 
woman  was  so  overcome  that  she  had  to  be  taken  away.  She  subsequently 
returned  to  her  old  quarters,  No.  129  Cedar  street. 

On  Monday,  the  prisoner  Hicks,  alias  Johnson,  was  transferred  to  the  cus- 
tody of  the  U.  S.  Marshal  Kynders,  and  upon  the  filing  of  several  affidavits, 
he  was  committed  for  examination. 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  this  horrible  tragedy,  than  which  nothing  more 
calculated  to  excite  public  wrath  has  occurred  in  the  neighborhood  of  this 
city  for  a  number  of  years.  That  Hicks  is  the  man  who  committed  the 
triple  murder  on  board  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson,  no  doubt  is  entertained,  and 
no  one  will  regret  his  speedy  satisfaction  to  the  claims  of  public  justice. 

RUMORS   IN  RELATION   TO   HIS   FAMILY. 

We  have  been  favored  by  a  gentleman  with  the  following  account  of  the 
family  of  Hicks :  The  father  of  the  prisoner  lives  at  Gloucester,  a  few  miles 
from  Ohepatchet,  Rhode  Island.  He  used  to  be  a  collier  in  that  neighbor- 
hood, and  had  the  reputation  of  being  an  honest  man.  About  fourteen  or 
fifteen  years  ago  he  was  employed  by  our  informant.  Simon  Hicks,  the 
brother  of  Albert  W.  Hicks,  alias  William  Johnson,  was  several  years  ago 
sentenced  to  be  executed  for  the  murder  of  a  man  named  Crossman,  under 
the  following  circumstances :  Mr.  Crossman  lived  in  Gloucester.  He  was  an 
old  bachelor,  and  lived  alone.  Simon  Hicks  and  he  were  very  friendly,  and 
Simon  used  to  visit  him  very  often.  One  night,  however,  Simon  went  to 
Crossman's  house,  broke  in  at  the  door  while  the  old  man  was  in  bed,  and 
beat  him  to  death  with  a  club.  He  then  helped  himself  to  several  hundred 
dollars  of  the  old  man's  treasures,  and  in  a  few  days  left  for  Providence,  a 
distance  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles  from  Gloucester,  taking  with  him  a 
girl  to  whom  he  had  been  paying  his  addresses.  In  Providence  he  bought 
her  a  gold  watch,  and  various  other  articles  of  finery.  This  lavish  conduct 
caused  suspicion,  and  he  was  arrested.  He  was  examined  in  Ohepatchet, 
and  afterward  acknowledged  his  guilt.  He  was  subsequently  tried  in  Pro- 
vidence, convicted  of  murder,  and  sentenced  to  be  executed.  While  await- 
ing execution,  one  of  the  prisoners  in  the  jail,  whose  time  had  almost  ex- 
pired, opened  a  number  of  the  cells,  and  there  was  quite  a  stampede  of 
prisoners,  among  whom  was  Simon  Hicks.     They  were  all  recaptured  within 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  15 

a  few  days,  with  the  exception  of  Simon  Hicks,  who  has  never  been  heard 
of  since.  This  escape  was  deemed  a  very  strange  circumstance,  inasmuch  as 
Simon  was  known  to  be  imbecile  and  unwary.  His  simplicity  created  much 
sympathy  in  his  behalf.  In  referring  to  Simon,  our  New  York  prisoner 
admitted  that  some  strange  stories  had  been  told  about  him,  but  he  guessed 
they  never  amounted  to  much.  The  last  he  had  heard  of  his  brother  was 
that  he  had  gone  to  California. 

THE   LAST   LETTER   OF    CAPTAIN   BURR   TO    HIS   WIFE. 

As  everything  connected  with  this  mysterious  and  bloody  affair  must 
prove  to  be  of  public  interest,  we  republish  an  extract  from  the  last  let- 
ter of  Captain  Burr,  in  which  he  speaks  of  William  Johnson  as  a  helms- 
man, written  to  his  wife  from  Coney  Island,  previous  to  the  departure  of 
the  E.  A.  Johnson  on  her  ill-fated  voyage : 

"This  man,  William  Johnson,  who  lives  in  New  York,  is  &  smart  fel- 
low. He  went  at  the  mast  and  scraped  it  while  we  were  at  Keyport, 
without  telling,  while  I  was  ashore.  He  is  a  good  hand ;  can  turn  his 
hand  to  almost  anything.  He  is  a  ship-carpenter,  he  says,  and  has  got 
quite  a  set  of  tools.  He  understands  all  about  a  boat,  only  is  not  a  very 
good  helmsman  to  steer  the  sloop  nice  when  beating  to  windward;  he  un- 
derstands steering  well  enough  other  ways.  It  requires  a  man  that  has  been 
very  much  used  to  sailing  a  boat  by  the  wind  to  steer  fast.  We  often  get 
in  company  with  vessels  that  are  smart,  when  it  requires  a  nice  helmsman  ; 
then  it  requires  my  skill  more.  Smith  is  a  good  helmsman  close  by  the 
wind.  I  don't  think  Oliver  is  quite  so  good.  I  will  write  the  first  chance 
after  we  get  in  Virginia.  Should  we  have  a  chance,  we  are  going  to  Pion- 
katonk  to  see  if  we  can  get  a  load  there.  That  is  about  five  miles  short  of 
the  Rappahannock  River.  Selah  knows  where  it  is.  I  have  nothing  more 
at  present.     Would  like  to  see  you  very  much. 

"Your  affectionate  husband,  ever, 

"Geo.  H.  Burr." 

THE   PRELIMINARY   EXAMINATION. 

On  his  examination,  the  facts  which  have  been  related  above  were  given 
in  evidence,  upon  which  he  was  committed,  and  the  Grand  Jury  found  a 
bill  of  indictment  for  robbery  and  piracy  upon  the  high  seas  against  him. 


THE  TRIAL. 

The  trial  commenced  on  the  18th  of  May,  and  lasted  five  days,  during 
which  time  the  prisoner  maintained  a  show  of  cold  indifference  to  the  pro- 
ceedings. 

14 — First  Day. 


It  being  announced  that  this  extraordinary  and  mysterious  tragedy  would 
be  brought  to  trial  this  morning,  the  court-room  was  densely  crowded. 
Judge  Smalley  said  he  was  informed  by  the  District  Attorney,  that  there 
were  a  large  number  of  witnesses  for  the  prosecution,  and  as  the  District 
Court  was  larger  than  the  Circuit  room,  the  proceedings  would  be  conducted 
in  the  District  Court  room. 


16  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

There  were  several  women  in  court  who  are  to  be  examined  as  witnesses 

The  prisoner  stands  charged  with  having,  on  the  21st  of  March  last,  made 
a  violent  assault  on  George  H.  Burr,  on  the  high  seas,  on  board  the  sloop 
Edwin  A.  Johnson,  and  there  feloniously  and  piratically  carried  away  the 
goods,  effects,  and  personal  property  of  the  said  George  H.  Burr,  who  was 
master  of  that  vessel.  The  property  consisted  of  about  $150  in  gold  and 
silver  coin,  a  watch  and  chain  of  the  value  of  $26,  a  canvas  bag,  a  coat,  a 
vest,  one  pair  of  pantaloons,  and  a  felt  hat.  The  second  indictment  is  the 
same  as  the  first,  but  charges  the  felony  to  have  been  committed  in  the 
lower  bay. 

The  prisoner  was  also  indicted  by  the  Grand  Jury  for  the  murder  of 
George  H.  Burr,  master  of  the  Edwin  A.  Johnson,  and  two  seamen  (brothers) 
named  Oliver  Watts  and  Smith  Watts.  As  robbery  on  the  high  seas  is 
piracy,  and  punishable  with  death,  the  prisoner  was  placed  on  trial  now  for 
the  robbery  only. 

The  prosecution  was  conducted  by  ex-Judge  Eoosevelt,  United  States 
District  Attorney,  and  Messrs.  Charles  H.  Hunt  and  James  F.  Dwight,  Assis- 
tant United  States  District  Attorneys.  Messrs.  Graves  and  Sayles  defended 
the  prisoner,  who  was  unchanged  in  appearance,  and  exhibited  the  same 
cocl  demeanor  which  had  marked  his  conduct  throughout  the  whole  case. 

The  following  Jurors  were  empannelled,  after  some  challenges,  and  some 
being  excused  for  having  formed  and  expressed  an  opinion : 


1.  Bernard  McElroy, 

2.  Owen  Foley, 

3.  John  Coulter, 

4.  Geo.  W.  Jackson, 

5.  Jas.  C.  Ehodes, 

6.  Isaac  Jerome, 


7.  Andrew  Brady, 

8.  Kobert  W.  Allen, 

9.  John  Farrell, 

10.  James  N.  Fuller, 

11.  John  McCalvey, 

12.  Benjamin  Sherman. 


The  following  gentlemen  were  rendered  inelligible,  having  formed  and 
expressed  an  opinion  in  the  matter:  William  A.  Martin,  Jos.  J.  B.  Del- 
vecchio,  Dwight  Johnson,  Samuel  Carson,  Geo.  Burbeck,  John  Latham, 
Thomas  M.  Clarke,  and  John  Green. 

The  following  gentlemen  were  challenged  peremptorily  by  the  prisoner's 
counsel :  Kobert  Goodenough,  Geo.  H.  Nichols,  A.  B;  Lawton,  and  Oscar 
Johnson.     Daniel  F.  Leveridge  was  challenged  for  favor. 

Mr.  Dwight  proceeded  to  open  the  case  for  the  government. 

OPENING  STATEMENT  FOR  THE  GOVERNMENT. 

Mr.  Dwight  said  :  You  are  empannelled,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  to  try  the 
issue  between  the  United  States  and  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  charged  with 
robbery  upon  the  high  seas.  Robbery  committed  upon  the  high  seas,  or  in  any 
basin  or  bay  within  the  admiralty  maritime  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States, 
is  declared  by  the  act  of  Congress  passed  in  1820  to  be  piracy,  and  punish- 
able with  death.  The  indictment  against  the  prisoner  charges  him  in  the 
first  count  with  having  on  the  21st  of  March  last,  on  the  sloop  Edwin  A. 
Johnson,  committed  the  crime  of  robbery  upon  George  H.  Burr,  master  and 
commander  of  that  vessel,  and  with  having  feloniously  and  violently  taken 
from  him  a  watch,  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  some  wearing  apparel.  Rob- 
bery is  the  felonious  and  forcible  taking  the  property  of  another  from  his 
person  or  in  his  presence  against  his  will,  by  violence  or  by  putting  him  in 
fear.  It  is  larceny  accompanied  by  violence.  The  punishment,  as  you  will 
perceive,  for  the  offence  committed  upon  the  high  seas,  is  different  from  its 
punishment  when  committed  upon  land.  It  is  to  protect  more  effectually 
and  punish  more  thoroughly  offences  occurring  upon  vessels  upon  the  high 
seas,  where  the  protection  for  person  and  property  is  not  so  great  as  it  can 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  17 

be  on  land,  where  individuals  are  so  much  surrounded  by  the  police  regula* 
tions  to  protect  them  and  their  property.  In  this  case,  the  prosecution  will 
show  to  you,  gentlemen,  that  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  21st  of 
March  last,  there  was  found  floating  in  the  Lower  Bay  of  New  York  a  de- 
serted vessel.  Her  strange  appearance  attracted  the  attention  of  several 
vessels  in  that  vicinity — among  others  the  steam  tug  Ceres,  which  bore  down 
to  her,  and  the  captain  of  which  boarded  this  vessel.  On  reaching  the  deck 
there  was  presented  a  most  unexpected  and  fearful  sight.  A  state  of  great 
confusion  appeared.  The  bowsprit  of  the  vessel  was  broken  off,  and  its 
rigging  was  trailing  in  the  water.  The  sails  were  down,  and  the  boom  of  the 
vessel,  which  had  been  set,  was  over  the  side  of  the  vessel.  There  was  no 
human  being  found  on  the  vessel,  and  no  light.  Forward  of  the  mast  ap- 
peared a  large  pool  of  blood,  which  had  run  down  to  some  cordage  and  sticks 
at  the  back  of  the  mast,  and  also  down  the  side  of  the  vessel  into  the  sea. 
This  was  just  aft  the  forecastle  hatch,  on  which,  or  near  which  was  found 
some  hair — a  lock  of  hair.  Amidships,  and  totally  disconnected  with  this 
appearance  of  blood  on  the  foredeck,  there  was  another  large  patch  of  blood, 
showing  signs  as  if  a  body  had  lain  there ;  this  also  ran  down  the  side  of  the 
vessel.  Still  further  aft,  just  back  of  the  small  companionway,  they  found 
traces  of  blood  again,  also  disconnected  with  that  in  the  middle  or  forepart 
of  the  ship.  Aft  there  appeared  signs  of  a  bloody  body  having  been  dragged 
from  the  entrance  to  the  cabin.  There  was  blood  upon  the  rail  and  over 
the  side,  and  it  seemed  as  if  an  endeavor  had  been  made  to  wash  it  off.  On 
descending  into  the  cabin,  a  state  of  still  greater  confusion  appeared  there. 
The  few  articles  of  furniture  were  disarranged.  The  companion-way  steps 
were  pulled  down,  and  some  of  the  sails  which  lay  on  the  companion-way 
were  pulled  out.  The  floor  was  wet  and  bloody,  and  bore  signs  of  having 
been  covered  in  its  entire  extent  with  blood,  which  had  beeu  washed  off 
with  water,  probably  brought  in  the  pail  which  was  found  there.  Upon  the 
handle  of  the  pail  there  was  found  some  hairs,  where  the  hand  would  natu- 
rally hold  it.  These  hairs  were  of  a  different  color  to  those  found  in  the 
other  parts  of  the  vessel. 

The  appearance  on  the  floor  and  the  disposition  of  the  articles  lying  in  the 
cabin,  together  with  the  two  auger  holes  found  bored  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  cabin,  where  the  floor  slanted  down,  showed  that  an  endeavor  had  been 
made  in  washing  the  floor  of  the  cabin  to  let  the  water  run  down.  The 
auger  with  which  these  holes  were  bored  was  found  there,  and  also  some 
little  chips  which  had  been  bored  out  of  the  floor.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
attempt  had  been  given  up  in  the  cabin,  and  the  vessel  had  been  abandoned 
afterwards.  There  were  a  small  stove  in  the  cabin  and  a  pile  of  wood  under 
which  the  blood  had  run.  On  the  wood  was  lying  a  coffee-pot  or  a  tea-pot 
with  fresh  tea  leaves  in  it.  The  side  of  the  tea-pot  was  indented  and  covered 
with  human  1 1 air,  which  was  likewise  black  like  that  found  on  the  pail. 
There  was  nothing  further  than  this  to  direct  suspicion,  and  the  vessel  was 
taken  in  tow  by  the  Ceres  and  brought  up  on  the  morning  of  Wednesday, 
the  21st  of  March,  to  the  slip  at  the  foot  of  Fulton  Market.  On  the  affair 
being  noised  about  the  town,  the  sloop  was  visited  by  a  large  number  of 
persons;  among  others  by  persons  acquainted  with  the  vessel  and  those  be- 
longing upon  her.  It  was  found  that  this  was  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson, 
owned  at  Islip,  Long  Island — a  vessel  belonging  in  this  district,  and  com- 
manded by  George  H.  Burr,  who  was  also  part  owner.  The  sloop  had  been 
engaged  in  the  oyster  trade  in  Virginia,  and  had  recently  come  in,  and  had 
on  the  13th  of  March,  a  week  previous,  cleared  from  here  to  go  to  Virginia 
for  another  cargo  of  oysters.  The  crew  consisted,  when  she  cleared  from 
here,  on  the  15th  of  March,  of  Geo.  H.  Burr,  master,  two  sailors — Oliver 
Watts  and  Smith  Watts — young  men,  brothers,  residing  at  Islip,  and  the 
defendant,  who,  under  the  name  of  William  Johnson,  had  shipped  as  first 


16  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

mate.  During  the  day  a  great  number  of  persons  visited  the  vessel,  and  the. 
daily  press  of  the  afternoon  and  the  following  morning  scattered  broadcast 
all  over  the  city  and  its  vicinity  information  concerning  this  affair.  The 
attention  of  the  public  finally  addressed  to  this  fact  was  the  cause  of  develop- 
ing many  slight  circumstances,  which  gradually  formed  themselves  into  a 
chain  of  circumstantial  proof  directing  the  attention  of  tho  officers  of  justice 
to  the  offender,  and  resulting  in  the  arrest  of  this  prisoner.  It  was  found 
that  on  Thursday,  the  15th  of  March,  the  vessel  sailed  from  here,  being 
chartered  by  one  Daniel  Simmons,  an  oyster  merchant  of  this  place,  living 
at  Keyport,  and  one  Edward  Barnes,  living  at  Keyport,  to  go  to  Virginia  for 
a  cargo  of  oysters ;  that  it  went  out  for  a  cargo  as  I  have  described,  and  that 
the  captain  had  a  large  quantity  of  money  in  his  possession  to  purchase 
oysters.  The  vessel  went  that  week  to  Keyport,  lay  there  some  some  time, 
and  in  the  last  part  of  the  week  ran  to  Coney  Island,  and  lay  in  Gravesend 
bay,  waiting  for  a  favorable  tide  and  wind  till  Tuesday  afternoon.  During 
the  Sunday,  Monday,  and  Tuesday  that  the  vessel  lay  there,  the  captain, 
crew,  and  others  went  on  shore  at  different  times,  and  one  of  the  Watts  boys 
had  gone  to  Brooklyn  on  Monday  or  Tuesday,  and  returned  on  Tuesday,  and 
on  his  return  the  vessel  immediately  proceeded  to  sea.  The  vessel  had 
waited  with  its  sails  up,  if  I  remember  correctly,  for  the  arrival  of  young 
"Watts.  He  was  taken  off  the  beach  in  a  yawl-boat  which  was  on  board  the 
vessel,  and  then  she  proceeded  on  her  Virginia  voyage.  It  was  watched  by 
persons  who  belonged  to  Coney  Island,  and  also  by  two  vessels  lying  at 
anchor  at  the  same  time,  some  distance  from  Coney  Island.  This  was  the 
close  of  the  day — Tuesday* about  six  or  seven  o'clock,  if  I  remember  rightly. 
From  that  time  until  the  next  morning  only  one  thing  is  known  of  that 
vessel,  and  that  by  a  connection  of  peculiar  circumstances. 

What  was  done  upon  that  vessel  during  the  night  no  mortal  man  save  the 
prisoner  knows.  Oliver  Watts  and  Smith  Watts  have  never  since  that  been 
seen  in  life.  What  became  of  them  we  can  only  judge  by  those  circumstances 
which  are  thrown  around  by  the  appearance  of  the  vessel  and  by  the  conduct 
of  the  prisoner,  and  other  circumstances  connected  with  him.  Whether 
their  bodies  be  in  the  sands  of  the  lower  bay,  or  floated  out  to  sea,  and  are 
tossed  by  the  waves  there,  we  do  not  know.  The  prisoner  fails  to  give  an 
account  of  them,  and  we  can  only  suppose  that  they  were  murdered  by  him 
and  thrown  into  the  sea.  Next  morning,  Wednesday,  the  21st,  the  prisoner 
appeared  upon  Staten  Island,  with  the  yawl-boat  of  this  sloop.  Except,  as  I 
say,  by  implication,  nothing  is  known  in  the  meantime.  The  circumstances 
to  which  I  refer  are  these :  The  schooner  J.  R.  Mather,  Captain  Nickerson, 
was  going  from  this  city  to  Philadelphia,  clearing  from  here  March  20,  and 
running  down  the  bay.  Some  time  during  the  night,  between  twelve  and 
two  o'clock,  the  vessel,  then  being  down  off  Coney  Island,  had  a  collision 
with  a  vessel  coming  in.  It  appeared  that  the  vessel  going  out  saw  this 
sloop  coming  in,  and  on  going  within  three  or  four  hundred  feet,  the  course 
of  that  other  vessel  was  changed,  and  she  run  down  directly  to  this  schooner, 
as  if  to  run  across  its  bow.  That  seemed  to  fail,  and  the  course  of  that  ves- 
sel was  again  changed  ;  but  instead  of  running  across  the  bow  of  the  schooner 
Mather,  it  seemed  to  fail,  and  struck  the  bow  itself,  cutting  it  down  within 
Bix  or  eight  inches  of  the  water's  edge,  and  rendering  the  schooner  incapable 
of  proceeding  to  sea,  and  it  returned  for  repairs.  There  was  the  finger  of 
Providence  again  in  that.  On  coming  into  this  port  the  captain  of  the 
schooner  J.  R.  Mather  found  that  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson  had  come  in,  and 
by  a  comparison  of  the  rigging  of  her  bowsprit,  found  on  the  bow  of  his  boat, 
with  the  rigging  of  the  E.  A.  Johnson,  that  that  was  the  vessel  which  caused 
the  collision.  Further  than  this,  nothing  is  known  of  that  night.  There 
was  no  cry  from  the  deck  of  the  E.  A.  Johnson  when  it  encountered  the 
schooner;    there  was  no  hail,  no  attempt  to  disentangle  themselves,  and 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE   PIRATE.  19 

nothing  was  known  of  what  was  going  on  upon  the  deck  of  that  vessel — ■ 
whether  there  was  a  himan  being  on  it  or  not.  The  captain  of  the  sloop 
saw  a  dark  form  aft,  but  could  not  say  whether  it  was  one  man  or  two  men. 
He  knew  that  some  person  must  have  been  on  board,  from  the  fact  of  her 
changing  her  course  as  I  have  described.  On  the  morning  of  Wednesday, 
the  21st  of  March,  about  six  o'clock,  the  prisoner  came  on  shore  at  Staten 
Island,  a  little  below  Fort  Richmond,  which  is  in  the  Narrows,  opposite  Fort 
Hamilton.  He  was  seen  very  soon  afterward,  coming  on  shore,  by  a  Mr. 
Neildinger,  whom  he  addressed,  inquiring  if  his  boat  would  be  safe,  designat- 
ing where  he  had  left  her,  to  which  Neildinger  replied  it  would  be  all  rijrht, 
and  the  prisoner  drew  it  upon  shore,  where  it  would  be  a  little  safer.  The 
prisoner  had  with  him  a  large  canvas  bag,  which  he  carried  upon  his 
shoulders.  After  leaving  Neildinger,  he  passed  up  Staten  Island,  encounter- 
ing one  or  more  persons,  whom  he  addressed,  and  came  to  Vanderbilt's 
landing,  arriving  there  shortly  before  seven  o'clock.  He  there  inquired  of 
the  boat  tender  where  he  could  procure  some  breakfast,  and  was  directed  to 
a  shop,  where  he  ate  breakfast,  and  in  payment  offered  to  the  boy  who 
served  him  a  $10  piece,  which  the  boy  could  not  and  did  not  change,  and  he 
afterward  gave  him  some  silver.  Afterward,  in  conversation  with  Mr. 
Egbert,  in  charge  of  the  station  there,  he  said  he  was  a  seafaring  man ;  that 
he  had  been  on  the  vessel  William  Tell  in  the  lower  bay ;  had  had  a  collision 
with  another  vessel;  that  the  captain  had  been  killed  against  the  mast, 
another  person  had  been  knocked  overboard,  and  he  had  merely  time  to 
escape  from  the  vessel  with  the  money.  He  is  described  by  that  witness  as 
being  excited.  He  took  the  ferry-boat  Southfield,  left  there  at  seven  o'clock, 
and  came  up  to  the  city.  On  the  way  up  he  entered  into  conversation  with 
Francis  McCaffrey,  a  deck  hand.  He  produced  before  him  a  bag  of  money, 
and  asked  him  to  count  it.  It  was  a  canvas  bag,  and  contained  $30  in 
silver,  and  a  large  quantity  of  gold.  McCaffrey  counted  it,  and  the  prisoner 
took  possession  of  it  again,  and  during  the  passage  up  had  some  more  general 
conversation  with  him. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Southfield  at  the  Battery,  between  seven  and  eight 
o'clock,  the  prisoner  took  some  refreshment — a  cup  of  coffee,  I  think,  and 
then  hired  a  small  boy  to  take  his  bag — a  small  canvas  bag — filled  with 
clothing  and  other  articles,  up  to  his  house;  it  was  taken  up  to  his  house  in 
Cedar  street,  and  left  there.  The  prisoner  lived  at  129  Cedar  street,  with 
his  wife;  the  other  occupants  of  the  house  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burke.  They 
had  various  conversations  with  him  during  the  day.  During  the  morning 
the  prisoner  went  out,  and  at  the  shop  of  Mr.  James,  on  South  street,  ex- 
changed the  most  of  the  money  which  he  had  (about  $150),  part  gold  and 
part  silver,  and  received  in  exchange  bills  on  the  Farmers'  and  Citizens'  Bank 
of  Williamsburg.  He  made  the  remark  to  Mr.  James  at  the  time,  that  he 
came  honestly  by  the  money.  Through  the  day  he  packed  up  his  clothing, 
and  in  the  afternoon,  with  his  wife  and  child,  took  the  Fall  River  boat,  run- 
ning from  here  up  the  Sound,  and  went  up  to  Fall  River,  telling  the  carman 
who  took  his  baggage,  if  any  inquiries  were  made  for  him,  to  throw  the  in- 
quirers off  the  scent.  From  Fall  River  he  went  to  Providence.  The  whole 
or  most  of  these  facts  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  officers  of  justice,  two 
persons  followed  on  his  track,  and  very  soon  traced  him  from  Fall  River  to 
Providence,  and  after  some  search  were  enabled  to  find  him  there.  He  was 
arrested  on  Friday  night,  the  22d  or  23d  March.  They  traced  him  to  a 
small  house  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and  at  one  o'clock  midnight  obtained 
an  entrance  into  the  house,  where  they  found  him  in  a  back  room  in  bed. 
The  windows  and  doors  of  the  house  were  closed,  and  the  defendant  was 
found  concealed  under  the  clothes  of  the  bed,  with  his  head  covered  up. 
The  officers  withdrew  the  clothes,  and  found  the  defendant  there  in  a  pro- 
fuse perspiration  and  feigning  sleep.     He  was  awakened,  or  pretended  to  be 


20  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OP 

awakened,  by  the  officers.  They  said  that  they  wanted  to  see  him  on  a 
charge  of  passing  counterfeit  money  on  the  hackman  who  had  brought  him 
to  the  house;  he  arose,  and  was  asked  to  point  out  his  baggage.  He  de- 
cribed  two  trunks,  which  they  took  with  them.  There  were  found  on  him 
a  watch  and  a  quantity  of  money — among  the  rest,  about  $120  in  bills  on  the 
Farmers'  and  Citizens'  Bank  of  Williamsburg,  corresponding  with  those  ex- 
changed for  him  by  Mr.  James  of  this  city.  The  clothes  were  returned  to 
this  city,  and  next  morning  the  prisoner  was  brought  here  and  lodged  in  the 
Second  District  station-house.  On  his  arrival,  he  was  told  that  the  charge 
of  counterfeit  money  was  a  mere  feint,  and  that  that  was  not  the  real  charge 
against  him;  to  which  he  very  coolly  replied  that  uhe  supposed  so,"  or 
something  to  that  effect.  To  Mr.  George  Kevins  and  Mr.  Elias  Smith,  the 
persons  who  pursued  and  discovered  him,  he  said  "he  had  no  knowledge 
whatever  of  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson ;  had  never  known  her  or  Captain 
Burr,  and  had  not  been  on  Staten  Island  for  many  months.  These  state- 
ments he  has  maintained  to  the  present  time,  constantly  refusing  to  give  any 
account  of  himself  in  connection  with  this  vessel,  or  of  anything  which  trans 
pired  on  board  of  her  after  she  left  her  anchor  in  Gravesend  bay.  That 
denial,  contrary  to  the  truth,  that  he  had  ever  known  Captain  Burr,  or  ever 
been  on  the  vessel  E.  A.  Johnson,  or  had  been  on  Staten  Island  when  he 
was  charged  with  being  there,  shows  a  full  consciousness  of  the  fatal  effects 
of  any  evidence  tending  to  establish  that  fact  if  uncontradicted,  and  in  that 
contradiction  he  persisted.  On  being  brought  to  this  city,  he  was  con- 
fronted with  various  persons  that  he  had  known  before;  with  the  man  who 
carried  his  baggage ;  with  the  deck  hand  of  the  Southfield.  and  with  various 
persons  who  saw  him  on  the  sloop  Johnson ;  the  watch  found  upon  him  was, 
through  the  hand  of  Providence,  identified  as  the  watch  of  Captain  Burr, 
worn  by  him  on  the  day  of  his  leaving  this  port.  That  watch  the  prisoner 
stated  he  had  had  in  his  possession  for  a  long  time ;  that  he  bought  it  from 
his  brother,  and  paid  a  certain  sum  of  money  for  it ;  and  as  to  the  other 
articles,  he  claimed  that  they  were  his,  and  gave  various  accounts  concerning 
them. 

On  the  Monday  following  his  being  brought  here  he  was  examined  before 
a  United  States  magistrate,  was  indicted,  and  is  now  brought  before  you  for 
the  offence  of  robbery  on  the  high  seas.  I  have  thus  briefly  gone  over  the 
various  circumstances  of  this  case  as  they  will  be  produced  to  you  by  the 
evidence.  I  deemed  it  necessary  to  state  to  you  the  line  of  evidence  that  is 
intended  to  be  pursued  by  the  prosecution,  that  you  may  understand  the 
bearing  of  each  portion  of  the  testimony  toward  the  rest.  You  will  perceive 
in  this  case  one  peculiarity.  A  great  number  of  witnesses  will  be  examined 
for  the  government,  and  among  these  witnesses  there  is  a  very  slight  connec- 
tion, either  with  each  other  or  with  the  individual  himself — particularly  with 
each  other.  Various  witnesses  will  be  produced  before  you  from  Islip, 
Gravesend,  Staten  Island,  New  York,  and  Brooklyn,  who  are  unacquainted 
with  each  other,  who  each  come  up  to  add  their  little  fibre  to  this  strong  cord 
of  proof  which  is  thrown  round  this  defendant.  Each  little  item  of  evidence 
is  of  no  particular  strength,  of  no  decision  in  itself,  but  only  forming  a  strong 
chain,  a  perfect  chain,  as  claimed  by  the  government,  fixing  without  question 
and  without  doubt  the  guilt  of  this  offence  upon  the  prisoner.  Your  atten- 
tion, gentlemen,  is  invited  to  this  carefully  and  scrutinizingly,  which  scrutiny, 
I  feel  convinced,  you  will  give  to  it.  It  is  a  question  of  great  interest — it 
involves  the  punishment  of  a  terrible  crime.  If  this  prisoner  is  the  true 
offender,  the  result  may  be  very  serious  to*  him.  It  involves  a  vindication  of 
the  law  and  the  punishment  of  a  crime  which  he  thought  he  had  covered  up; 
for  there  is  very  little  doubt  lie  thought  he  had  sunk  the  vessel  by  the  colli- 
sion in  the  Lower  Bay;  and  I  think  you  will  say,  as  I  have,  in  looking  over 
the  evidence,  that  the  hand  ©f  Providence,  in  marking  the  track  this  mau 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  21 

was  to  pursue,  has  placed  upon  that  track  the  eyes  of  those  who  would  come 
up  afterward  to  identify  hiua.  It  seems  strange  in  this  centre  of  swarming 
thousands,  at  such  a  time  of  the  day  as  this  prisoner  escaped  from  that  sloop, 
he  could  not  have  hidden  himself.  It  seems  as  though  there  was  but  one  eye 
to  watch,  and  one  instinct  to  follow  and  observe  him.  From  the  very  time 
that  he  landed  on  Staten  Island  until  he  went  to  Providence,  his  whereabouts 
was  known  all  the  time.  I  cannot  explain  either  to  you  or  to  myself  what  it 
was  that  caused  him  to  be  watched ;  that  he  was  watched  and  observed  will 
be  shown.  From  the  very  commencement  of  his  being  seen  on  the  E.  A.  John- 
son till  he  was  brought  here,  everything  is  known  concerning  him,  save  the 
twelve  hours  intervening  from  his  sailing  from  Coney  Island  till  the  next 
morning.  He  has  been  called  upon  to  give  an  account  of  the  property  of  the 
Wattses  and  Captain  Burr — but  he  claims  it  as  his  own.  He  has  been  oalled 
upon  to  give  an  account  of  those  men  with  whom  he  was,  and  who  are  no 
doubt  already  dead  ;  but  he  utterly  disclaims  any  knowledge  of  them  or  of 
the  vessel  upon  which  they  were.  That,  gentlemen,  you  will  judge  of  on 
this  trial.  You  will  say  whether  he  is  guilty  of  the  triple  crime,  the  double, 
bloody,  damning  crime  that  occurred  on  the  deck  of  that  vessel ;  and  if  so, 
as  jurors  and  citizens,  whatever  may  be  the  result  to  him,  and  whatever  the 
punishment,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  your  verdict  will  be  in  accordance  with 
the  law  and  the  facts. 


THE  EVIDENCE. 

Selah  Cowell  was  the  first  witness  called,  and  being  examined  by  Mr. 
Dwight,  deposed :  I  reside  at  Islip,  Long  Island ;  I  know  the  sloop  E.  A. 
Johnson ;  I  built  her  myself;  I  am  an  American  citizen  ;  I  owned  one  half 
of  her,  and  Captain  George  H.  Burr  owned  the  other  half;  he  was  an  Amer- 
ican citizen  ;  I  saw  the  prisoner  at  the  bar  on  board  the  sloop  E.  A.  John- 
son, on  the  Wednesday  evening  before  she  left ;  she  was  at  the  Spring  street 
dock ;  she  had  been  lying  there  a  week ;  she  cleared  on  Thursday,  15th  ; 
Captain  Burr  told  me  he  was  going  to  Deep  Creek,  Virginia,  for  oysters; 
the  crew  consisted  of  Captain  Burr,  Oliver  Watts,  and  Smith  Watts,  and  the 
prisoner;  Captain  Burr  told  me  he  shipped  the  prisoner  as  mate;  Captain 
Burr  was  about  thirty -nine  years  of  age,  Olher  Watts  was  about  twenty- 
four,  and  Smith  Watts  about  nineteen;  I  knew  Captain  Burr  for  a  long  time; 
the  color  of  his  hair  was  dark ;  Oliver  Watts  had  very  light  hair,  and  Smith 
Watts  had  dark-brown  hair;  I  don't  know  the  handwriting  of  the  boys 
(Watts);  I  have  seen  considerable  of  Captain  Burr's  writing;  I  saw  the  E. 
A.  Johnson  at  the  Battery  when  she  was  brought  in  by  the  harbor  police;  I 
saw  the  yawl  boat  of  the  Johnson  with  the  harbor  police;  she  had  that  yawl 
boat  before  she  left ;  I  took  the  Johnson  to  Islip ;  on  examining  the  Johnson 
I  found  a  valise — a  square,  black,  canvas  valise — and  some  clothes;  I  brought 
them  here  (identifies  the  valise) ;  found  the  things  now  in  it,  and  a  knife  in 
it;  saw  the  prisoner  in  the  sloop  the  night  before  she  sailed;  saw  him  next 
in  court  before  the  Commissioner. 

Mr.  Dwight  to  the  Court — The  examination  before  the  Commissioner  took 
place  on  the  28th  and  29th  of  March. 

Cross-examined  ly  Mr.  Graves — I  had  no  conversation  with  the  prisoner 
when  I  saw  him  on  board  the  sloop  on  the  Wednesday ;  I  never  saw  Captain 
Burr  since;  Oliver  Watts  was  a  large  man;  he  would  weigh  about  170 
pounds;  Smith  Watts  would  weigh,  perhaps,  180  pounds;  he  was  very  large 
for  his  age ;  Captain  Burr  was  a  small  man ;  probably  did  not  weigh  more 
than  125  or  130  pounds ;  it  was  after  the  examination  before  the  Commis- 
sioner—some four  or  five  .days — that  I  found  the  valise  on  board  ;  I  gave  it 
to  Henry  Seaman;  I  took  the  sloop  over  to  Hoboken,  lay  there  a  ccuple  of 


22  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OP 

days,  and  then  took  her  to  Islip;  the  "Watts  boys  were  on  board  the  sloop 
the  "Wednesday  evening  before  she  sailed. 

Be-direct. — I  have  seen  Captain  Burr  write ;  I  had  business  transactions 
with  him  for  the  last  nine  years  ;  when  the  defendant  was  on  board  on  Wed- 
nesday evening  he  was  dressed  with  a  blue  shirt  and  overalls,  like  those  I 
found  in  the  vessel;  I  was  on  board  about  half  an  hour;  I  took  supper 
there ;  the  prisoner  was  at  supper  also ;  he  6at  at  the  table  with  us  (ship- 
ping articles  produced) ;  I  recognize  the  names,  etc.,  here,  to  be  in  Captain 
Burr's  handwriting. 

John  A.  Boyle  deposed — I  am  enrollment  and  license  clerk  in  the  Custom 
House  (produces  a  book) ;  the  E.  A.  Johnson  was  enrolled  on  3d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1858,  as  an  American  vessel  (objected  to  by  prisoner's  counsel ;  admitted ; 
exception  taken.) 

Daniel  Simmons  deposed — I  reside  at  Key  port,  ISTew  Jersey  ;  I  am  in  the 
oyster  business ;  I  know  the  sloop  Edwin  A.  Johnson  ;  I  had  her  chartered 
last  spring  from  this  port  to  Virginia  for  oysters;  the  last  time  I  chartered 
her  was  on  the  14th  of  March  ;  I  knew  Capt.  Burr  for  two  years  ;  I  sailed 
once  with  him ;  I  think  she  left  here  last  on  Thursday  morning  the  15th  of 
March ;  I  settled  with  Capt.  Burr  for  his  charter  on  Wednesday  afternoon^ 
14th  March;  I  gave  him  $200  in  silver  coin,  quarters,  halves,  and  ten  and 
five  cent  pieces  ;  I  gave  him  other  money. 

Mr.  Graves  objected  to  any  proof  of  the  payment  of  coin  to  the  captain^ 
on  the  ground  that  the  indictment  did  not  warrant  the  allegation. 

The  Court  was  of  opinion  that  the  objection  was  not  well  founded,  and 
overruled  it. 

Examination  continued. — I  paid  him  the  balance  of  his  charter  money  in 
gold;  two  tens,  two  fives,  a  two  and  a  half,  one  dollar  in  gold  and  a  half 
dollar  ;  I  gave  it  to  him  in  a  shot  bag;  it  belonged  to  Capt.  Burr,  but  I  had  it 
in  my  safe,  with  the  money  in  it,  for  some  days  before ;  I  did  not  know 
where  the  captain  used  to  keep  his  money  ;  there  was  a  secret  drawer  in  the 
sloop  where  I  kept  money  when  I  sailed  with  him ;  I  do  not  know  that 
Capt.  Burr  ever  kept  his  money  there ;  I  have  seen  that  bag  since,  when  it 
was  taken  out  of  the  prisoner's  pocket  at  the  Second  precinct  station-house; 
I  saw  it  taken  out  of  his  pocket ;  there  was  nothing  in  the  bag  then ;  there 
were  two  bags — I  only  knew  one  of  them ;  I  saw  the  prisoner  on  board  the 
sloop  Edwin  A.  Johnson  on  the  Wednesday  before  she  sailed,  at  the  foot  of 
Spring  street — (bag  produced)  ;  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  this  is  the 
same  bag  that  I  gave  the  captain  the  two  hundred  dollars  in ;  1  saw  the  pri- 
soner on  board  in  the  forenoon  of  Wednesday,  and  again  in  the  evening ;  I 
think  he  had  a  monkey  jacket  on ;  I  saw  the  prisoner  again,  I  think,  at  Key- 
port,  on  board  the  sloop  ;  I  was  about  thirty  yards  from  him ;  it  was  between 
daylight  and  dark ;  I  could  not  swear  positively  to  him  being  on  board  at 
Keyport;  the  next  time  I  saw  the  prisoner  was  at  the  Second  precinct 
station-house,  when  he  was  brought  back  from  Providence;  it  was  on  a 
Saturday ;  I  had  some  conversation  with  him ;  I  asked  him  if  he  had  ever 
seen  me  before ;  he  said  he  had  not ;  this  was  in  the  back  room  of 
the  station-house;  Captain  Weed  asked  him  if  he  knew  me,  and  he  said  he 
did  not ;  I  told  him  I  saw  him  on  board  the  Edwin  A.  Johnson,  at  Spring  street 
dock  ;  he  said  he  never  was  there,  and  did  not  know  there  was  such  a  vessel ; 
I  asked  him  if  he  knew  Capt.  Burr  ;  he  said  he  did  not ;  that  he  never  saw 
him  and  never  was  on  board  the  vessel ;  when  I  saw  the  prisoner  on  board 
the  sloop  his  whiskers  were  red  and  full ;  when  I  saw  him  after,  his  whiskers 
were  darker. 

Cross-examined. — When  I  hailed  the  vessel  at  Keyport,  I  asked  them  where 
the  captain  was ;  and  I  think  the  prisoner  is  the  man  that  answered  me,  but 
I  am  not  certain ;  I  had  no  conversation  with  the  prisoner  on  board  the  sloop 
*t  Spring  street ;  the  first  time  I  spoke  to  him  was  at  the  station-house;  Cap 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  23 

tain  Weed  asked  me  if  I  knew  him,  and  I  said  I  did  ;  I  identify  the  bag  by 
the  strings  ;  I  have  no  other  marks  to  identify  it ;  the  bag  was  pretty  nearly 
full ;  there  was  no  hole  in  the  bag  I  gave  Captain  Burr ;  there  is  a  hole  in 
this  one  produced. 

David  S.  Baldwin  deposed — I  live  at  Islip  ;  I  know  the  prisoner ;  I  saw 
him  on  board  the  sloop  on  the  13th  March ;  he  was  helping  to  get  out  oys- 
ters; Captain  Burr  was  not  on  board  ;  the  prisoner  told  me  that  he  was  going 
to  Virginia  with  Captain  Burr  for  a  load  of  oysters;  he  told  me  that  night, 
that  if  I  wanted  to  go  up  town  he  would  stay  on  board  and  mind  the  vessel ; 
I  was  cook;  this  valise  I  saw  before ;  the  prisoner  handed  it  to  me  when  he 
came  on  board  on  the  13th  ;  the  prisoner  did  not  stay  on  board  that  night 
(examines  the  contents  of  the  valise)  ;  I  saw  this  knife  before  with  the 
prisoner,  on  board;  he  took  it  out  to  cut  a  piece  of  string ;  I  know  it  by  this 
piece  of  the  handle  being  rough,  and  the  rivet  being  bright ;  at  that  time  the 
prisoner  wore  his  whiskers  as  he  does  now ;  I  saw  the  prisoner  on  Wednes- 
day morning  on  board  the  sloop  at  breakfast ;  I  did  not  see  him  again  until 
to-day. 

Cross-examined. — T  had  been  cook  with  Captain  Burr ;  I  left  the  sloop  on 
Wednesday ;  Smith  Watts  took  my  place  as  cook ;  the  prisoner  first  came  on 
board  between  six  and  seven  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morning;  I  never  saw  him 
before;  I  don't  know  how  he  came  to  tell  me  he  was  going  to  Virginia  with 
Captain  Burr ;  the  captain  told  Johnson  if  he  wanted  to  go  up-town  that 
night  he  could  go;  Johnson  said  to  me  if  I  wanted  to  go  he  would  stay  on 
board. 

James  H.  Bacon  deposed — I  am  in  the  oyster  business ;  I  know  the 
prisoner  at  the  bar;  I  saw  him  on  board  the  E.  A.  Johnson  on  the  13th 
March  ;  I  was  there  two  days  getting  out  oysters;  Johnson  was  there  shovel- 
ling out  oysters  ;  he  wore  his  whiskers  same  as  he  does  now;  he  had  a  check 
shirt,  short  coat,  and  comforter  about  his  neck;  I  next  saw  him  after  his 
arrest,  when  I  was  called  on  to  identfiy  him. 

Gross-examined. — I  reside  at  Port  Kichmond  ;  I  was  examined  before  the 
Commissioner ;  he  wa9  working  on  board  the  boat  helping  me  to  fill  out  the 
oysters  ;  I  think  he  had  a  dark  pair  of  pantaloons  and  a  Kossuth  hat ;  I  think 
in  the  morning  he  had  on  a  monkey  coat,  and  when  he  went  to  work  he 
pulled  on  a  blue  shirt ;  I  had  no  conversation  with  him  more  than  to  tell 
him  to  fill  the  baskets  a  little  fuller. 

Eeuben  Keymer  deposed — I  am  in  the  oyster  and  fish  business ;  I  knew 
of  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson  being  at  Gravesend  in  March  last;  I  don't  recol- 
lect the  date  ;  she  came  there  on  Sunday  and  left  on  Tuesday  night;  the 
next  day  (Wednesday)  I  saw  the  sloop  towed  up  by  a  steamer ;  I  saw  the 
prisoner  the  day  the  sloop  sailed  from  Gravesend ;  he  came  ashore  after  one 
of  the  Wattses  ;  it  was  just  at  sunset ;  he  came  ashore  in  the  yawl  boat;  the 
sloop  was  about  one  hundred  yards  off;  the  prisoner  was  sculling  the  yawl ; 
I  was  afraid  he  would  run  foul  of  me ;  the  prisoner  and  Watts  returned  to 
the  sloop  in  the  yawl  boat ;  the  prisoner  was  dressed  in  a  coat  of  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  one  produced  ;  1  watched  the  sloop  going  out;  she  went  south- 
west to  clear  Coney  Island,  and  then  she  took  a  southerly  course  (a  chart  of 
the  bay  produced — the  witness  describes  to  the  jury  where  the  sloop  lay,  and 
her  course) ;  I  saw  her  three  miles  out  to  the  east  of  Sandy  Hook ;  the  wind 
was  west  northwest ;  the  sloop  was  going  about  eight  knots  an  hour  ;  when 
she  got  out,  she  set  her  flying  jib;  at  the  rate  she  was  going  she  would  pass 
Sandy  Hook  in  about  an  hour ;  when  I  saw  Johnson  come  ashore  from  the 
sloop,  I  think  I  recognized  the  boy  that  went  back  with  him  as  one  I  had 
ieen  on  the  sloop  the  day  before. 

Cross-examined. — I  was  not  well  acquainted  with  any  of  them  except  Capt. 
Burr  j  I  am  certain  of  the  prisoner  being  the  man  who  sculled  the  yawl ;  I 
told  the  man  in  my  boat  not  to  run  into  him ;  I  turned  to  the  prisoner  and 


$4  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

said  to  him,  "  Now  I  suppose  you  are  going  to  give  it  to  her ;"  I  was  in  a  row 
boat;  we  were  rowing  our  boat;  I  next  saw  the  prisoner  in  Court  before 
the  Commissioner;  I  think  I  stated  before  the  Commissioner  that  the 
prisoner  had  a  monkey  jacket  on  when  I  saw  him  in  the  boat ;  I  stood  about 
five  minutes  on  the  shore  and  then  went  to  my  house ;  I  saw  from  the  house 
about  three  miles  out;  if  she  kept  the  southerly  course  I  suppose  she  would 
have  fetched  up  about  the  Highlands,  below"  Sandy  Hook  ;  she  made  a 
straight  wake.  (Witness  again  described  the  course  of  the  sloop  on  the 
chart.) 

Charles  Baker  deposed — I  live  at  Gravesend ;  I  knew  Capt.  Burr ;  I 
know  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson  ;  I  saw  her  in  March  last  at  Gravesend;  I  saw 
Capt.  Burr  come  ashore  at  Gravesend  bay  ;  knew  Smith  and  Oliver  Watts  by 
sight;  I  saw  the  prisoner  Johnson  come  ashore  and  take  away  one  of  the 
hands;  I  saw  the  sloop  go  away  in  about  eight  or  ten  minutes  after  the  pri- 
soner and  the  young  man  got  on  board ;  Capt.  Burr  was  on  board ;  there 
were  four  on  board  altogether. 

Cross-examined. — The  young  man  had  a  small  bundle  under  his  arm  ;  never 
saw  the  prisoner  before  that ;  had  no  conversation  with  him  ;  he  was  a 
stranger  and  I  took  a  little  more  notice  of  him  than  if  I  knew  him  ;  he  had 
a  kind  of  monkey  coat  on  ;  he  had  whiskers ;  he  had  none  on  his  upper  lip 
then  that  I  could  see ;  I  was  not  nearer  to  him  than  the  length  of  this  room  ;  I 
did  not  see  which  of  the  Watts  boys  went  along  with  him. 

John  S.  Whitworth  deposed — I  live  in  Gravesend;  I  saw  the  prisoner  at 
Gravesend  beach  on  the  19th  or  20th  of  March  last;  he  came  ashore  in  a 
yawl  boat ;  I  saw  him  raise  the  bow  of  the  boat  on  the  beach  ;  I  was  paint- 
ing a  vessel  at  the  time  ;  the  boat  was  not  more  than  a  few  minutes  there 
when  I  saw  her  go  back  again  toward  the  E.  A.  Johnson,  which  was  about 
100  or  120  yards  off;  I  saw  the  prisoner  on  the  day  following;  became 
ashore  in  the  yawl  boat ;  I  did  not  see  him  go  back  to  the  sloop  that  day;  I 
don't  think  he  had  any  coat  on  on  Monday ;  I  think  he  had  a  monkey  coat 
on  on  Tuesday. 

Cross-examined  by  Mr.  Sayles. — The  next  yawl  boat  was  coming  ashore 
when  I  left  off  work  on  Tuesday ;  I  went  away  before  she  came  to  the 
beach  ;  the  prisoner's  side  was  to  me  when  he  pulled  the  boat  on  the  beach 
on  Monday. 

By  the  consent  of  counsel  the  jury  were  permitted  to  separate  after  suit- 
able caution  from  the  Court  not  to  converse  with  any  person  on  the  subject 
of  this  trial. 

Adjourned  to  Tuesday  at  ten  o'clock. 

Second  Day. 

Richard  Eldridge,  examined  by  Mr.  Dwight,  deposed  that  he  saw  the 
sloop  E.  A.  Johnson  at  Gravesend  on  the  Sunday  morning  and  Monday; 
went  on  board  of  her;  saw  Captain  Burr  and  the  two  Watts  boys,  and 
Johnson,  the  prisoner,  on  board;  saw  Johnson  on  board  the  sloop  first  on 
Sunday,  Monday  and  Tuesday.  I  went  out  in  the  Sirocco,  in  company  with 
the  sloop,  past  Coney  Island ;  we  were  bound  up  to  the  Health  Office;  it 
was  about  sunset  when  we  went  out ;  Captain  Burr,  the  two  Watts  boys, 
and  Johnson  were  on  board  when  she  left ;  she  went  on  the  usual  course  of 
southern  vessels;  I  took, a  letter  from  Captain  Burr  to  his  home,  Johnson 
wore  a  beard  same  as  now,  but  no  moustache  on  the  upper  lip ;  never  saw 
the  prisoner  since  until  yesterday. 

Cross-examined. — Knew  Captain  Burr  well  for  years,  and  also  knew  the 
Watts  boys ;  I  did  not  know  the  prisoner  before  that  time ;  I  had  no  particu- 
«r  conversation  with  him;  Captain  Burr  told  me  he  was  going  to  Virginia. 

George  Neidlinger  deposed — I  live  on  Siaten  Island,  at  Port  Richmond; 


^LBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  25 

I  saw  Johnson,  the  prisoner,  at  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  tie  21st  of 
March  ;  I  was  standing  at  the  barn  door ;  he  came  up  to  me  and  asked  me 
if  there  was  any  one  to  interfere  with  bis  boat,  and  I  said  no;  he  left  hi? 
boat  on  the  south  side  of  the  fort,  and  he  earae  from  that  direction ;  he  told 
me  lie  left  the  boat  "  back  there ;"  I  afterward  went  there  and  saw  that  the 
boat  had  been  hauled  up  by  some  boys ;  the  harbor  police  came  for  the  boat 
and  took  it  away  the  next  evening  ;  there  was  nothing  in  the  boat  that  I 
could  see  but  some  sand,  oyster  shells,  and  oars;  the  prisoner  went  toward 
the  Vanderbilt  landing;  he  had  on  a  monkey  jacket  and  a  Kossuth  hat — 
(jacket  produced) — it  was  like  this ;  he  had  a  bag,  like  a  feed  bag,  which  he 
carried  on  his  shoulder — (witness  described  on  the  diagram  where  he  saw 
the  prisoner) — he  landed  on  the  point  below  Fort  Tompkins ;  Vanderbilt's 
lauding  is  about  two  miles  from  Fort  Tompkins;  the  prisoner  wore  his 
whiskers  pretty  much  as  they  are  now,  only  he  had  no  hair  on  the  upper 
lip ;  at  the  examination  before  the  Commissioner  he  had  no  whiskers  on  the 
side. 

Gross-examined. — Had  never  seen  the  man  before ;  he  had  no  conversation 
with  me  except  to  ask  if  any  one  would  interfere  with  his  boat;  he  had  a 
monkey  jacket  and  Kossuth  hat,  but  I  did  not  notice  his  pants ;  I  made  a 
mistake  before  the  Commissioner  in  stating  that  the  jacket  came  down  below 
the  knees;  I  meant  to  say  that  it  came  down  to  his  hips;  I  corrected 
myself. 

To  the  Court. — I  think  I  changed  my  testimony  before  I  left  the  Commisr 
sioner's  Court. 

Cross-examination  continued. — I  saw  the  prisoner  put  on  the  coat  before 
the  Commissioner,  and  then  I  changed  my  mind. 

To  Mr.  Dwight.--I  am  not  an  American  ;  I  am  a  German. 

Michael  Durnin  deposed. — I  live  at  Staten  Island ;  I  know  Hicks,  the 
prisoner ;  I  saw  him  on  the  21st  of  March ;  I  was  going  down  to  Port  Rich- 
mond, and  met  him  with  a  bag  on  his  shoulder;  ho  bid  me  good  morning, 
and  I  bid  him  the  same;  he  asked  something  about  his  boat;  he  went 
toward  Vanderbilt's  landing;  he  had  a  bag  on  his  shoulder,  like  a  feed  bag. 

This  witness  was  not  cross-examined. 

Augustus  Guisler  deposed — I  live  at  Stapleton,  but  attend  bar  at  Vander- 
bilt's Landing ;  I  know  the  prisoner ;  I  saw  him  on  Wednesday  morning, 
21st  March  ;  he  came  to  our  shop,  and  said  he  wanted  something  to  eat ;  he 
asked  me  if  I  had  any  coffee,  and  I  said  not,  but  told  him  where  to  get  it ; 
he  went  out  and  came  back  again,  and  said  they  were  not  up  ;  he  asked  for 
eggs,  and  invited  Mr.  Hickbert  to  take  a  drink ;  he  showed  me  a  $10  gold 
piece,  and  asked  me  if  I  wanted  it ;  I  said,  "  No,  sir,  I  have  not  change  for 
it ;"  he  then  took  some  silver  and  paid  me ;  I  would  not  know  the  bag ;  the 
coat  he  had  on  was  like  that  produced  ;  it  had  patches  on  the  elbows  like 
this  ;  Mr.  Hickbert  asked  him  if  he  was  a  seafaring  man  ;  he  told  Mr.  Hick- 
bert that  he  was  captain  of  a  sloop ;  that  he  had  been  run  into,  and  one 
man  was  killed,  and  another  knocked  overboard ;  he  said  he  was  down 
stairs  asleep  at  the  time,  and  had  only  time  to  get  his  clothes  and  the 
"  needful "  (at  the  same  time  shaking  the  bag),  and  come  ashore  in  the  yawl 
boat ;  the  bag  in  which  he  had  his  money  was  something  like  this  one  pro- 
duced ;  he  took  the  $10  gold  piece  out  of  the  bag ;  he  was  about  twenty 
minutes  in  our  shop. 

Gross-examined. — I  didn't  count  the  money ;  Mr.  Hickbert  did  not  count 
H  ;  I  did  not  see  the  bag  in  his  hand  when  he  first  came ;  he  did  not  take  it 
3Ut  of  his  pocket ;  he  had  a  handkerchief  in  his  hand  ;  when  be  offered  me 
the  gold  piece,  he  had  the  bag  in  his  hands,  leaning  against  the  bar;  he 
finally  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  paid  me  ;  could  not  tell  whether  the 
bag  was  full  or  not ;  it  looked  like  this  bag ;  I  have  seen  a  good  many  shot- 
oags  ;'I  am  seventeen  years  of  age;  I  next  saw  the  prisoner  at  the  Second 


26  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OP 

Ward  station-house ;  Captain  Weed  sent  for  me  ;  they  told  me  they  thought 
they  had  the  man;  I  went  there  and  identified  him. 

To  the  Court. — There  were  thirty  or  forty  persons  in  the  station-house  at 
the  time  ;  I  picked  him  out ;  no  one  pointed  him  out  to  me  ;  I  asked  Captain 
Weed  where  he  was ;  he  said  he  would  not  tell  me ;  that  I  was  to  point  him 
out;  there  were  others  there;  they  all  identified  him  but  one  little  boy; 
the  people  were  not  mostly  in  policemen's  dress ;  there  were  all  kinds  of 
clothes. 

Abraham  S.  Hiokbert  deposed  that  he  saw  the  prisoner,  on  the  21st 
March,  at  the  Vanderbilt  ferry,  at  about  half-past  six  o'clock  ;  he  asked  me 
where  he  could  get  something  good ;  I  showed  him ;  he  went  in  and  asked 
Augustus,  the  barkeeper.  This  witness  corroborated  the  last  witness  as  to 
the  conversation  with  the  prisoner,  and  further  added  that  he  told  him  that 
the  vessel  he  was  on  was  the  William  Tell ;  that  he  had  been  run  into  by  a 
schooner,  and  one  man  was  killed  against  the  mast,  and  another  knocked 
overboard.  The  prisoner  shook  a  bag  in  his  hand  when  he  said  he  had  only 
time  to  save  the  one  tiling  needful. 

Cross-examined. — I  had  never  seen  him  before,  to  my  knowledge ;  I  can- 
not tell  exactly  how  he  was  dressed,  nor  whether  he  had  whiskers ;  I  should 
think  the  man  was  about  five  feet  eight  inches ;  I  did  not  take  particular 
notice  of  his  height ;  he  said  he  was  on  the  William  Tell,  and  had  been  run 
into  that  morning  in  the  lower  bay. 

To  the  Cottrt. — Next  saw  the  prisoner  at  the  police  station-house  ;  iden- 
tified him  there  by  his  face ;  he  was  not  pointed  out  to  me  by  any  one. 

To  Mr.  Graves. — To  the  best  of  my  belief,  he  is  the  man  I  saw  at  Vander- 
bilt's  lauding ;  I  would  not  like  to  swear  right  up  and  down  that  he  is  the 
man. 

Franklin  E.  Hawkins  deposed  that  he  is  captain  of  the  sloop  Sirocco ;  I 
knew  Captain  Burr  and  the  Watts  boys;  heard  Captain  Burr  say  he  was 
going  to  write  a  letter  home;  saw  the  prisoner  on  board  the  sloop  E.  A. 
Johnson ;  my  vessel  was  lying  at  Coney  Island,  and  the  sloop  Johnson  was' 
lying  at  the  same  place;  on  the  Sunday  before  she  sailed  I  went  out  with 
her;  Johnson  came  ashore  in  the  yawl  boat  on  the  evening  before  the  sloop 
sailed ;  Richard  Eldridge  took  the  letter  from  Captain  Burr  to  his  home  in 
Islip ;  Captain  Burr  had  dark  hair ;  one  of  the  Watts  boys  had  light  hair  and 
the  other  a  little  darker;  I  do  not  know  Captain  Burr's  watch. 

Cross-examined. — The  prisoner  met  me  when  he  came  ashore  on  Tuesday, 
and  asked  me  if  I  was  Oliver;  I  had  no  conversation  with  the  prisoner; 
heard  him  talk  with  the  captain ;  I  can  swear  positively  that  this  is  the 
man. 

Patrick  McCaffrey  deposed — I  am  a  deck  hand  on  the  Staten  Island 
ferry-boat  Soutbfield ;  I  know  the  prisoner;  I  saw  him  in  the  gentlemen's 
cabin  about  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  March  ;  I  was  broom- 
ing off  the  cabin;  he  was  sitting  down,  and  he  called  me  over  and  asked  me 
if  I  was  a  judge  of  this  country's  money;  that  he  was  afraid  them  fellows 
were  cheating  him;  I  said  I  was  a  pretty  good  judge  of  gold  and  silver,  but 
did  not  know  much  of  bills;  he  asked  me  to  count  the  money;  I  counted  out 
three  or  four  gold  pieces  and  told  him  what  they  were ;  the  bag  was  a  kind 
of  a  shot  bag ;  he  asked  me  where  the  water  closet  was  and  I  showed  him  ; 
he  told  me  to  mind  his  canvas  bag  and  he  would  give  me  the  price  of  my 
bitters  (identifies  the  coat) ;  my  attention  was  particularly  called  to  the  coat 
by  it  being  bare  in  some  places  and  having  patches  on  the  elbow. 

Mr.  Dwight  asked  that  the  prisoner  now  put  on  the  coat. 

The  Judge  said  that  he  could  not  compel  the  prisoner  to  do  so,  as  it  might 
aid  other  witnesses  for  the  prosecution,  who  are  now  in  court  and  have  not 
vet  been  examined. 

Examination  continued. — Next  saw  the  prisoner  in  the  Second"  Ward 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  21 

station-house  ;  he  denied  having  ever  seen  me ;  I  looked  all  around  the 
station-house,  and  when  I  saw  him  I  said,  "There's  the  man." 

To  the  Court. — There  were  forty  or  fifty  in  the  station  house ;  my  attention 
was  not  directed  to  him ;  no  one  pointed  him  out  to  me. 

Cross  examined. — Had  never  seen  him  before  I  saw  him  on  board  the 
Southfield ;  he  had  whiskers  up  to  his  ears,  but  no  moustache ;  his  whiskers 
were  blacker  when  I  saw  him  in  the  station-house  thau  they  are  now ;  I 
have  not  a  doubt  about  the  coat;  I  can  swear  positively  to  it  and  the  man; 
I  cannot  swear  positively  to  the  shot  bag;  I  was  born  in  Ireland;  I  am  only 
two  years  here;  I  have  lived  at  Staten  Island  ever  since;  I  have  been  a 
coachman,  and  have  been  now  nearly  eighteen  months  on  the  ferry-boat;  I 
can't  tell  how  many  passengers  were  in  the  ferry-boat  that  morning. 

William  Drumm,  a  lad,  deposed  that  he  met  the  prisoner  on  a  Wednesday 
morning,  about  eight  o'clock  ;  can't  tell  when ;  met  him  at  the  South  ferry ; 
it  was  about  the  21st  of  March ;  I  saw  him  at  a  coffee  and  cake  stand  at  the 
ferry,  kept  by  Charley  McCosten ;  he  got  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  piece  of  pie ; 

he  put  down  a  gold  piece,  and  the  man  said,  u  Oh, ,  have  you  no 

smaller  change  than  that!"  he  then  gave  him  something  else.  I  carried 
Johnson's  bag  to  the  corner  of  Cedar  and  Greenwich  streets.  I  asked  him 
fifty  cents,  and  he  gave  me  three  shillings,  and  said  if  I  did  not  go  out  of 
that  he  would  kick  me  (laughter) ;  there  was  a  Dutchman  there  who  told 
him  two  shillings  were  enough  ;  I  pointed  out  the  prisoner  on  the  following 
Sunday,  in  the  station-house. 

Gross-examined. — I  testified  before  the  commissioner  that  the  bag  was 
very  heavy  and  cut  my  shoulder,  and  that  it  did  not  seem  to  be  filled  with 
clothes ;  I  stated  before  the  commissioner  that  the  prisoner  wore  a  greyish 
coat ;  I  saw  him  first  at  the  coffee  stand  ;  he  wanted  a  carriage  first. 

Patrick  Burke,  deposed — I  know  the  prisoner  for  about  three  years,  by 
the  name  of  William  Johnson ;  he  had  a  room  from  me  in  Cedar  street,  near 
Greenwich  ;  the  last  time  I  saw  him  was  on  the  Wednesday  before  his 
arrest;  I  did  not  remark  his  dress;  he  had  nothing  with  him  that  I  saw;  I 
saw  him  again  that  day,  in  my  house,  about  four  o'clock  ;  I  saw  some  bills 
with  him  that  day  ;  I  do  not  know  how  much  ;  I  do  not  know  that  he  made 
any  change  in  his  clothes  or  his  whiskers ;  he  went  away  by  the  boat  that 
evening ;  he  took  his  wife  and  child  with  him  ;  he  took  some  things  with 
him ;  he  left  a  ship's  instrument  (a  compass,  I  think,)  behind  at  my  house  ;  I 
had  no  conversation  with  him  that  day  more  than  to  bid  him  the  time  of 
the  day ;  he  always  paid  me  my  rent  like  an  honest  man. 

Gross-examined. — I  think  it  was  before  noon  I  saw  him  with  the  bills  in 
his  hands ;  often  saw  bills  with  him  before. 

Catharine  Burke,  wife  of  the  last  witness,  corroborated  her  husband's 
testimony;  Johnson  did  not  say  anything  about  what  voyage  he  was  going 
on  the  last  time  he  went  to  sea. 

Gross-examined. — I  had  seen  the  prisoner  with  money  on  previous  oc- 
casions. 

Albert  S.  James,  broker,  deposed — I  saw  the  prisoner  first  on  Wednesday, 
the  21st  March,  at  my  office  in  South  street ;  he  asked  me  to  take  some  silver 
at  as  low  a  rate  as  possible;  I  had  engaged  to  take  some  silver  from  the 
market,  and  asked  him  if  he  came  from  there ;  he  said  no ;  the  "  Cap  "  was 
sick  ;  that  he  came  honestly  by  the  money ;  I  changed  about  $135  in  silver, 
and  $35  in  gold;  it  was  in  a  bag  and  tied  up  in  a  handkerchief.  (Handker-  ' 
chief  and  bag  produced.)  I  think  that  is  like  the  bag  but  cannot  identify  the 
nandkerchief ;  a  man  came  into  the  office  and  the  prisoner  seemed  to  hesi- 
tate, and  did  not  seem  to  want  to  open  the  bag  before  the  man. 

Q.  What  did  you  give  him  in  exchange  for  the  gold  and  silver. 

A.  I  gave  him  $130  in  Farmers'  and  Citizens'  Bank  of  Williamsburg,  Long 
Island;  their  denominations  were  tens,  fives,  threes  and  twos;  I  counted 


28  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

the  money ;  the  prisoner  did  not  appear  to  count  the  money  after  me ;  he 
did  not  see  how  much  there  was. 

Richaed  O'Conoe,  cartman,  deposed — That  he  saw  the  prisoner  on  the 
21st  of  March,  and  took  his  baggage  to  the  Bay  State  (Fall  River  boat);  the 
prisoner  walked,  and  I  saw  him  at  the  boat  afterward.  He  told  me  if  any 
one  inquired  where  he  was  going,  to  tell  them  it  was  none  of  their  business. 
"When  they  were  taking  the  luggage  out,  a  woman  asked  him  where  they 
were  going,  and  he  said  they  were  going  to  Albany  to  live  on  a  farm. 

Witness  was  not  cross-examined. 

Geoege  Nivens,  officer  of  second  precinct,  deposed — That  he  understood 
that  a  man  answering  the  prisoner's  description  had  left  in  the  Stonington 
boat,  but  traced  him  to  Providence,  where  he  arrested  him  in  a  boarding- 
house.  I  found  the  hackman  who  had  conveyed  Johnson,  and  he  took  me 
to  the  house ;  I  found  him  in  bed  with  his  wife ;  I  shook  him  up  and 
searched  him  ;  I  found  on  him  a  watch  ;  I  took  away  two  trunks,  two  bags, 
two  handkerchiefs,  and  a  knife,  a  pocket-book,  and  some  bed-clothing,  which 
he  claimed  to  be  his.  (Identifies  the  watch,  pocket-book,  and  bags ;  cannot 
identify  the  handkerchiefs.)  I  found  in  the  pocket-book  $121  in  bills  on  the 
Farmers'  and  Citizens'  Bank  of  Williamsburg,  mostly  fives  and  tens ;  there 
are  some  ones ;  there  are  also  some  on  the  Lee,  Huguenot  Bank,  and  City 
Bank  of  Brooklyn  ;  when  I  arrested  him  first  I  told  him  I  arrested  him  for 
passing  counterfeit  money ;  I  did  not  make  any  statement  to  him  at  the  sta- 
tion-house in  Providence  ;  I  believe  Mr.  Smith  did  ;  I  brought  him  to  New 
York  next  day  ;  he  told  me  that  the  watch  belonged  to  his  brother ;  he  said 
he  had  not  been  in  New  York  or  Staten  Island  during  the  month  of  March  ; 
that  he  had  been  speculating  around  the  market,  and  had  about  $60  ;  at  an- 
other time  he  said  he  got  the  money  from  his  brother ;  on  counting 
over  the  money  in  the  pocketbook  I  found  there  were  $121  in  it;  when  I 
informed  him  in  the  cars  of  the  charge  against  him,  he  denied  all  knowledge 
of  Oapt.  Burr  and  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson. 

Cross-examined. — At  the  time  I  had  the  conversation  with  him  in  the  cars 
he  was  in  irons  ;  he  did  not  tell  me  that  he  could  not  read  or  write. 

To  Mr.  Dwight. — When  I  arrested  him  in  Providence  he  told  me  his  name 
was  Hicks — Albert  W.  Hicks. 

Elias  Smith  deposed — That  he  was  with  Nivens  when  he  made  the 
arrest. 

The  OouET. — Are  you  a  police  officer  ? 

Witness. — No,  sir ;  I  am  a  reporter  of  the  Times. 

To  Mr.  Dwight. — The  prisoner  denied  all  knowledge  of  the  sloop  E.  A. 
Johnson  or  Captain  Burr ;  he  said  he  had  not  been  in  New  York  for  two 
months ;  I  understood  him  to  convey  the  idea  that  he  had  been  in  Provi- 
dence for  two  months  (identifies  the  watch  and  pocket-book  as  those  taken 
from  the  prisoner  in  Providence) ;  I  cannot  identify  the  clothing ;  I  addressed 
the  prisoner  at  the  station-house,  and  said  to  him,  "  Hicks,  you  are  charged 
with  the  murder  of  three  men  ;"  he  said  nothing ;  I  then  changed  the  lan- 
guage and  said  to  him,  u  You  are  charged  with  imbruing  your  hands  in  the 
bleod  of  three  of  your  fellow  men  for  money ;"  the  prisoner  shook  his  head 
and  said,  "  I  do  not  know  anything  about  it ;"  I  then  said  to  him,  "  You 
have  been  on  board  the  sloop  Edwin  A.  Johnson  ;"  he  shook  his  head  and 
said  he  did  not  know  anything  about  it,  and  was  never  on  it ;  Mr.  Nivena 
read  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  transaction  to  him ;  he  said  he  did  not 
care  much  about  the  arrest  except  for  the  interruption  to  his  business,  as  he 
had  purchased  a  place  in  Providence ;  I  told  him  he  would  be  identified 
when  he  got  to  New  York ;  he  said  we  might  think  what  we  liked ;  he- 
leemed  annoyed  at  our  pressing  the  subject. 

Gross-examined. — I  never  found  out  how  much  he  had  paid  ;  I  sud  to  himr 
"  If  you  are  innocent,  then  you  are  willing  to  go  back  to  New  York  ?"  after 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  2ft 

hesitating,  he  assented  ;  Detective  Billings,  of  Providence,  was  with  me  when 
he  signed  the  agreement  to  come  back. 

Samuel  M.  Downes  deposed — I  am  captain  and  pilot  of  the  steamtug 
Sirius ;  I  picked  up  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson  on  the  East  Bank,  near  the 
Romer,  about  half-past  six  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  I  brought  her  to  this 
city,  and  left  her  in  the  river  at  the  foot  of  Fulton  Market ;  the  bowsprit  of 
the  sloop  was  broken  off  about  midway ;  the  jib  hung  overboard  ;  there  was 
no  small  boat  on  board ;  I  boarded  the  sloop  ;  one  of  the  men  of  the  schooner 
Telegraph  had  boarded  her  about  the  same  time  (witness  describes  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  sloop  on  a  model  produced  in  court) ;  there  were  pools  of 
blood  on  the  deck,  and  the  cabin  appeared  as  if  some  one  had  been  slaugh- 
tered there  ;  there  were  marks  of  a  hand,  as  if  struggling,  and  then  there  ap- 
peared to  be  a  blow  of  a  hatcljet  where  the  hand  mark  was,  as  if  it  was  cut; 
the  blood  flowed  down  to  the  scuppers  ;  there  were  evidences  of  a  scuffle  ; 
there  was  a  mark  of  a  foot  in  the  blood,  as  if  some  person  with  a  boot  or  a 
shoe  had  stepped  in  it ;  the  appearance  of  the  blood  from  the  companionway 
seemed  as  if  some  person  had  been  dragged  from  there  and  thrown  over- 
board ;  there  was  some  hair  found  in  the  pool  of  blood  forward  ;  it  was  dark 
brown  hair ;  I  did  not  remove  the  hair  or  anything  on  board  ;  I  brought  her 
to  New  York  ;  arrived  about  half-past  ten  o'clock  at  the  foot  of  Fulton  Mar- 
ket, and  gave  her  up  to  Captain  Weed  of  the  Second  Precinct. 

Cross-examined,  but  nothing  material  was  elicited. 

Be-direct  examination. — The  wind  was  blowing  north-northwest,  which 
would  bring  the  sloop  out  to  sea. 

Hart  B.  Weed,  examined  by  Mr.  Dwight,  deposed — I  am  captain  of  the 
Second  District  police ;  I  examined  the  clothes  brought  by  Nivens  from  Pro- 
vidence ;  there  were  coat,  pants,  vest,  and  some  flannel  clothing  contained 
in  a  bag  used  for  feed  ;  the  clothes  produced — coat,  vest,  and  pantaloons — 
are  those  given  to  me  by  Officer  Nivens ;  there  was  also  a  hat  (several  other 
articles  of  clothing  produced)  ;  these  were  either  found  in  the  trunk  or  the 
bag  ;  I  recollect  finding  a  daguerreotype  in  the  trunk  or  bag  (produces  it)  ;  I 
sealed  it  up  and  gave  it  to  the  clerk  of  this  court.  (The  daguerreotype  is  of 
a  young  lady,  and  is  said  to  be  that  of  the  sweetheart  of  one  of  the  Wattses.) 
I  was  at  the  station-house  when  the  prisoner  was  brought  there ;  he  said  he 
knew  nothing  about  it ;  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  anything  about  the  vessel 
or  the  murder,  and  he  said  "No;  he  knew  nothing  about  it,  and  had  not 
been  in  New  York,  Staten  Island,  or  Long  Island  for  some  time;  Dr.  Bouton, 
the  coroner's  assistant,  accompanied  me  to  the  sloop ;  we  found  a  lock  of 
brown  hair — human  hair — lying  partially  in  a  pool  of  blood  on  the  deck  ;  I 
gave  the  hair  to  the  Assistant  District  Attorney ;  it  was  sealed  up  in  the 
manner  of  this  package  produced ;  I  cannot  now  swear  that  this  is  the  hair; 
it  was  then  clotted  with  blood  ;  I  also  found  hair  on  the  coffee-pot  in  the 
cabin ;  I  gave  that  to  you  (Mr.  Dwight);  (another  package  produced)  this  is 
the  hair  found  on  the  coffee-pot ;  the  blood  had  the  appearance  as  if  a  person 
lay  down  and  the  blood  flowed  at  each  side. 

The  cabin  had  a  great  deal  of  blood  and  had  the  appearance  of  being  washed 
down ;  I  found  a  bucket,  with  a  rope,  which  appeared  to  be  used  in  taking 
up  water ;  I  found  a  broom  there ;  there  was  blood  and  hair  on  the  rope 
attached  to  the  bucket ;  sails  and  other  things  had  been  removed  out ;  there 
were  holes  bored  in  the  deck ;  we  fouud  an  auger  with  blood  on  it ;  the 
auger  fitted  the  holes  in  the  deck ;  the  coffee  pot  was  lying  behind  the 
stove,  it  seemed  to  be  bruised  ;  there  was  hair  on  it ;  we  searched  under  the 
companionway  and  found  a  lead  line  there  ;  we  found  some  secret  drawers ; 
I  saw  the  valise  that  was  identified  here  yesterday  in  the  cabin  of  the  sloop ; 
we  found  spots  of  blood  on  the  ceiling  of  the  cabin,  and  on  each  side  of  the 
door,  as  if  a  person  had  been  drawn  out  of  it  r  there  were  three  cuts  on  the 
ceiling,  which  appeared  to  have  been  done  with  a  sharp  instrument ;  w* 


30  THE   TRIAL    AND    CONFESSION    OF 

found  cuts  on  the  clothing  of  the  captain's  berth;  the  railing  had  the 
appearance  as  if  a  hand  was  on  it  and  had  been  cut ;  we  saw  marks  which 
seemed  as  if  a  person  with  bloody  clothing  had  been  shoved  down  the  side 
of  the  vessel;  there  was  blood  on  the  stove  and  wood  in  the  cabin ;  the 
cabin  was  in  a  deranged  condition;  I  received  some  tackle  from  Captain 
Nickerson,  which  consisted  of  some  of  the  gearing  of  the  vessel ;  I  took 
them  down  with  one  of  my  men,  who  had  been  a  sailor,  and  we  found  they 
corresponded  with  the  bowsprit  of  the  Johnson. 

Cross-examined  (a  shirt  and  linen  coat  produced). — These  are  the  clothing 
we  found  in  the  captain's  berth  with  cuts  on  them  ;  there  was  no  blood  on 
them  nor  on  the  bed  ;  they  had  the  appearance  of  being  clean  and  folded  up ; 
I  partially  examined  the  prisoner  to  see  if  there  were  any  marks  on  him  ;  I 
found  no  fresh  marks  of  violence  on  him;  I  lifted  his  shirt  and  looked  at  his 
body ;  I  looked  at  his  arms ;  I  saw  the  figure  of  an  eagle  printed  in  India 
ink,  I  saw  no  other  marks  on  his  arm. 

The  hour  of  adjournment  having  arrived,  the  Court  adjourned  to  ten 
o'clock  Wednesday  morning. 

Third  Day. 

The  court  was  densely  crowded  at  an  early  hour. 

Theodore  Bitrdett,  examined  by  Mr.  Dwight,  deposed,  that  he  is  a 
policeman  belonging  to  the  harbor  police  ;  I  found  a  boat  about  seven  o'clock 
on  Thursday,  the  22d  of  March,  the  day  after  the  sloop  was  brought  up  H 
the  city  ;  I  found  the  boat  fifty  yards  to  the  southward  of  Fort  Kichmond  j 
Hickbert  and  Gresler(the  two  witnesses)  gave  me  information  where  I  could 
find  the  boat ;  I  saw  the  hostler  of  the  fort ;  he  gave  me  the  oars  and  half 
an  old  boot,  and  a  piece  of  an  old  stump  of  a  broom ;  I  went  to  the  sloop 
and  found  Mr.  Selah  Howell,  the  owner ;  I  showed  him  the  boat  as  it  lay  at 
the  slip ;  he  claimed  it,  and  took  it  away. 

To  the  Judge. — This  was  at  the  police  station. 

Samuel  J.  Conover  deposed — I  am  a  watchmaker,  doing  business  with 
Mr.  Squire,  No.  182  Bowery;  I  remember  repairing  a  watch  about  a  year  ago 
for  a  person  named  Burr ;  it  was  on  the  6th  of  April,  a  year  ago  ;  it  was  not 
Mr.  Burr  himself  who  brought  it ;  it  was  left  by  a  gentleman  whom  I  saw  in 
the  court  yesterday ;  the  person  who  left  it  took  it  away  I  presume ;  it  was 
a  double  case  silver  watch  ;  the  maker's  name  J.  Johnson,  and  the  number 
21,310.  (Looks  at  the  watch.)  This  is  the  watch  that  I  repaired  ;  I  do  not 
know  the  guard ;  I  don't  know  that  I  ever  saw  Capt.  Burr. 

Gross-examined. — In  giving  a  description  of  the  watch  and  its  number  I  am 
uided  by  a  record  which  we  keep  at  the  store ;  I  am  pretty  sure  I  made  the 
record  before  it  was  repaired  ;  the  record  is  in  my  handwriting.  (The  wit- 
ness was  requested  to  send  for  the  record.) 

Hart  B.  Weed,  recalled,  deposed — That  the  dark  hair  produced  is  what  I 
found  in  the  cabin  ;  this  other  (the  light  hair)  I  found  forward  of  the  mast, 
on  the  deck  in  a  pool  of  blood.  (Witness  here  selected  and  showed  out  the 
clothes  brought  from  Providence  in  the  trunk  and  bag.)  I  have  now  a  bag 
in  my  hand  in  addition  to  the  things  produced  yesterday  ;  the  contents  were 
taken  out  of  a  green  chest  brought  by  the  officers  from  Providence. 

Gross-examined. — I  cannot  enumerate  all  the  articles  found  ;  I  did  not  find 
any  jewelry ;  I  do  not  know  if  any  one  took  a  list  or  description  of  the 
articles. 

Re-direct  examination.— I  now  recollect  that  I  found  the  daguerreotype 
produced  yesterday  (of  a  young  lady)  in  the  breast  pocket  of  this  coat,  (a 
dark  frock  coat). 

Henry  Seaman  deoosed — I  reside  in  Brooklyn ;  I  was  acquainted  with  Capt. 
Burr  for  fourteen  or 'fifteen  years ;  I  saw  him  on  the  Tuesday  before  he  left, 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  31 

I  know  Oapt.  Burr's  watch;  I  had  it  in  ray  hand  on  the  Tuesday  ;  it  was  at 
ray  house,  and  he  (Oapt.  Burr)  took  it  away  that  evening ;  I  recollect  leaving 
Oapt.  Burr's  watch  to  be  repaired  at  some  store  in  the  Bowery,  a  year  ago 
last  April ;  I  did  not  go  after  it  again;  I  know  it  by  its  general  appearance, 
and  by  the  guard,  and  the  way  the  guard  is  knotted ;  I  knew  the  sloop  John- 
son, and  its  yawl-boat;  I  saw  the  yawl-boat  at  the  police  station  after  the 
sloop  had  been  towed  in  to  the  city ;  it  was  on  the  22d  or  23d  of  March  last; 
saw  the  yawl-boat  on  the  sloop  the  time  she  was  here  before  the  last  trip; 
I  do  not  know  the  prisoner;  Captain  Burr  was  a  man  of  about  five  feet  seven 
or  five  feet  eight  inches  in  height.  I  found  the  ship's  papers  in  the  cabin,  at 
the  head  of  the  captain's  birth ;  I  gave  them  to  Captain  Weed,  of  the  Second 
Ward  station ;  I  knew  the  Watts  boys ;  Oliver  was  about  five  feet  nine  or 
ten,  and  weighed  about  180  or  185  pounds;  he  was  the  light-haired  one; 
Smith  Watts  was  taller,  and  weighed  about  175  pounds;  I  do  not  know 
Smith  Watts'  writing. 

Cross- examined. — I  had  the  watch  in  my  hand  probably  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes;  it  was  on  the  Tuesday  before  the  Thursday  that  he  sailed  ;  I  don't 
think  I  said  before  the  Commissioner  that  it  was  the  Tuesday  week  before 
he  sailed ;  I  do  not  know  why  I  took  the  watch  in  my  hand ;  I  had  no  idea 
that  I  should  be  called  on  to  identify  it;  I  left  it  at  Mr.  Squire's  store  to  be 
repaired  ;  I  did  not  go  for  the  watch;  I  remember  the  number  of  the  watch, 
21,310 ;  the  number  was  marked  down  on  the  boom  of  my  cart  by  Captain  Burr 
when  he  gave  it  to  me  at  foot  of  Spring  street;  I  did  not  state  that  fact  be- 
fore; I  have  since  sold  the  cart;  Captain  Burr's  wife  and  my  wife  are  sisters. 

To  Mr.  Dwight — Captain  Burr  carried  the  watch  for  four  or  five  years. 

Mr.  Conover — (recalled  and  produces  the  record). — It  is  as  follows: 


Mr.  Burr 

D.  B.  Silver  watch, 

J.  Johnson,  Liverpool,  21,310. 
Did. 


To  prisoner's  counsel. — I  can't  say  to  whom  I  delivered  the  watch  ;  my 
impression  is  that  I  delivered  it  to  the  gentleman  who  left  it,  but  I  am  not 
certain  ;  it  was  there  about  a  week. 

Catmbine  Dickenson,  a  girl  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  deposed  :  J 
knew  Oliver  Watts;  1  saw  him  last  on  the  Tuesday  of  the  week  he  sailed; 
1  do  not  know  the  date;  I  gave  him  my  daguerreotype. 

Mr.  Graves  objected  to  this  testimony. 

The  Court  said  he  deemed  the  evidence  was  proper  and  important;  it  had 
been  proved  that  a  daguerreotype  was  found  in  a  coat,  and  if  the  prosecution 
can  prove  that  that  coat  belonged  to  young  Watts,  and  that  this  is  the 
daguerreotype  this  witness  gave  him,  it  will  go  far  to  connect  the  prisoner 
with  the  transaction  on  board  that  sloop.  The  Court  thought  the  evidence 
not  only  eminently  proper,  but  very  material  and  important  testimony. 

Witness  continued. —  When  I  gave  him  the  daguerreotype  he  put  it  in  his 
coat  pocket;  1  saw  that  coat  since  in  the  District  Attorney's  office  (coat  pro- 
duced in  which  Captain  Weed  found  the  daguerreotype);  I  think  this  is  his 
coat  and  this  the  pocket  he  put  it  in ;  he  then  jumped  into  the  cars  (daguer- 
reotype produced)  ;  this  is  the  same  one  I  gave  him;  I  don't  remember  any 
of  the  other  clothes  of  Oliver  but  the  coat. 

Cross-examined. — The  coat  was  shown  me  in  the  District  Attorney's  office ; 
they  showed  me  one  coat  and  asked  me  if  it  was  Oliver's,  and  I  said  not ; 
they  then  showed  me  the  other,  and  I  said  it  was  Oliver's ;  I  identify  it  from 


32  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

the  yellow  lining  in  the  sleeves,  and  the  cloth  being  worn  off  tl  e  button ;  H 
was  on  the  sidewalk,  right  by  the  cars,  I  gave  Oliver  my  daguerreotype. 

Habeiet  Robinson  (mother  of  the  last  witness) — My  former  husband's 
name  was  Dickenson  ;  I  knew  Oliver  Watts  for  three  or  four  years;  he  used 
to  stay  at  my  house  when  home  from  sea ;  he  had  not  all  his  clothes  when  at 
my  house  last;  he  had  a  pair  of  pants  which  he  took  away  with  him;  he 
wore  on  that  Tuesday  his  best  coat ;  I  should  suppose  this  (the  coat  in  which 
Captaid  Weed  found  the  daguerreotype)  to  be  the  coat ;  I  know  it  from 
the  lining,  etc. ;  he  said  he  gave  $16  for  it;  the  other  I  think  was  his  every 
day  coat. 

Gross-examined. — Nothing  material  elicited. 

Abbey  Hubbaed  deposed — My  first  husband's  name  was  Watts ;  I  am  the 
mother  of  Smith  Watts;  the  last  time  I  saw  him  was  on  the  7th  of  March; 
he  started  to  go  with  Captain  Burr  to  Virginia  (identifies  a  portion  of  the 
clothes  belonging  to  her  son,  Smith  Watts) ;  I  patched  this  shirt  myself;  this 
bag  has  the  initials  of  my  present  husband,  Lorenzo  Hubbard,  on  it;  I  put 
my  son's  clothes  in  it  that  morning  myself;  I  knew  the  shirts;  I  cut  them 
myself,  and  had  them  sewed ;  he  was  very  large,  and  could  not  get  shirts 
to  fit  him;  I  cut  them  in  the  old  fashioned  way  myself;  I  have  had  no 
tidings  of  him  since,  only  that  I  suppose  he  was  murdered.  (Sensation  in 
court.) 

Gross- examined. — I  reside  at  Islip;  I  am  not  any  relation  of  Captain 
Burr's  family,  but  I  was  acquainted  with  him  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years. 

Redirect  examination. — Witness  exhibited  further  signs  in  stitches  and 
patches,  by  which  she  positively  identified  her  son  Smith  Watts'  shirt ;  the 
pantaloons  have  a  new  pocket,  which  I  put  in,  as  he  had  worn  out  the  other 
one;  all  those  things  that  I  have  identified  my  son  took  away  with  him  in 
the  bag  which  has  my  husband's  initials  on  it. 

The  cross-examination  was  a  mere  repetition  of  her  direct  testimony. 
To  Mr.  Dwight— (Handkerchief  produced  by  officer  Nivens,  shown  to 
witness) — This  was  Smith  Watts'  handkerchief;  I  have  washed  and  done  it 
up  for  him  for  two  years,  and  never  saw  one  like  it. 

Mrs.  Hubbaed,  who  gave  her  testimony  clearly,  and  maintained  herself- 
possession  on  the  witness  stand,  burst  into  tears,  and  continued  to  weep  for 
some  time  after  she  retired  from  the  body  of  the  court. 

Dideme  Buee  (the  widow  of  Captain  Burr,  dressed  in  deep  mourning) 
was  called  to  the  stand  and  deposed — My  husband,  Captain  George  H.  Burr, 
left  home  on  the  8th  of  March  last ;  I  have  never  received  any  tidings  of  him 
since,  save  in  connection  with  this  affair;  I  think  I  should  know  his  watch 
from  the  case  and  its  general  appearance,  and  by  the  guard  (watch  handed 
to  Mrs.  Burr)  ;  this  is  the  same  kind  of  a  case ;  I  should  say  it  is  the  same 
watch ;  he  carried  it  some  nine  years,  as  near  as  I  can  say ;  (ship's 
articles  produced)  I  think  the  filling  up  in  this  paper  is  in  my  husband's 
handwriting;  I  saw  some  of  his  clothes  in  the  Second  Ward  station-house; 
(Kossuth  hat  produced)  he  had  a  hat  like  this,  which  he  wore  from  heme; 
this  was  his  shirt ;  he  took  this  from  home  with  him;  I  know  it  by  a  piece 
across  it,  which  he  put  in  himself,  on  board  the  sloop ;  those  pantaloons  I 
think  were  his ;  the  suspenders  are  precisely  like  those  he  had  on  when  he 
went  away;  he  had  a  vest  the  same  cut  and  color  of  this  produced  ;  he  did 
not  have  it  home  with  him  the  last  time;  I  could  not  say  positively,  but  I 
\hink  it  is  his;  this  black  handkerchief  was  his ;  I  hemmed  it  myself. 

Gross-examined. — My  husband  had  more  than  one  coat;  he  often  bought 
clothes,  and  brought  them  on  board  the  sloop ;  1  first  identified  these  clothes 
at  the  station-house. 

Mr.  Dwight  said  that  these  were  all  the  witnesses  for  the  prosecution, 
with  the  exception  of  Captain  Nickerson,  of  the  brig  which  had  had  the 
collision  with  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson.     Pie  had  been  telegraphed  to  Boston, 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  35 

and  as  lie  was  a  willing  witness,  they  expected  him  by  every  arrival.  He 
sails  between  Philadelphia  and  Boston,  and  it  may  be  possible  that  he  (Cap- 
tain Niekerson)  had  been  detained  at  sea. 

The  counsel  for  the  defence  intimated  that  their  testimony  would  not 
occupy  much  time,  and  they  would  probably  close  to-morrow.  They  pre- 
ferred, however,  that  the  prosecution  should  exhaust  their  case  first. 

The  Judge  said  he  would  allow  a  reasonable  time  for  the  appearance  of 
Captain  Niekerson. 

Mr.  Dwight  said  that  Mrs.  Hubbard  wished  to  correct  her  testimony  as 
to  date. 

Mrs.  Hubbard  again  took  the  witness  stand,  and  said  that  she  saw  her 
son,  Smith  Watts,  last  on  the  13th  of  March,  Tuesday,  and  not  on  the  7th  ; 
she  was  confused  when  she  first  came  up,  and  made  a  mistake  as  to  the 
date. 

The  Court  then  adjourned  to  ten  o'clock  on  Friday  morning. 

Fourth  Day. 

Catherine  Dickerson,  recalled  by  the  prosecution,  deposed — I  have  had 
hair  from  Oliver  Watts  in  my  possession;  it  was  in  his  daguerreotype  which 
I  gave  to  some  one  in  the  station-house;  this  daguerreotype  and  bair  now 
handed  to  me  are  the  same;  I  knew  this  to  be  Oliver's  hair  because  I  cut  it 
off  myself. 

The  daguerreotype  and  hair  of  Oliver  Watts  were  submitted  to  the  jury  to 
compare  with  the  hair  found  in  the  blood  on  the  deck  of  the  sloop. 

Captain  Weed  recalled  by  the  District  Attorney,  and  deposed — I  received 
from  the  last  witness  (Miss  Dickerson)  a  daguerreotype  and  some  hair,  which 
I  have  with  me. 

Q.  Will  you  give  it  to  the  person  that  you  received  it  from  ? 

(The  captain  here  handed  the  hair  and  daguerreotype  to  Miss  Dickerson.) 

Miss  Dickerson,  being  further  examined,  said — That  is  the  daguerreotype 
that  I  spoke  of;  that  is  the  hair  of  Oliver  Watts  which  I  received  from  him. 

To  the  Court. — I  can  tell  the  hair  by  the  color  of  it;  I  cut  it  off  myself; 
I  put  it  in  the  daguerreotype;  his  likeness  was  taken  at  the  same  time  as  mine 
was — on  the  Tuesday  before  he  sailed ;  the  daguerreotype  that  I  now  hold 
in  my  hand  is  that  of  Oliver  Watts;  I  think  I  cut  that  lock  of  hair  from  his 
head  about  six  months  ago  from  the  present  time. 

George  Washburn,  of  the  second  precinct  police,  stated  that  he  took 
some  rigging  from  the  J.  R.  Mather,  and  fitted  it  to  the  broken  bowsprit  of 
the  E.  A.  Johnson;  it  compared  exactly  with  what  was  still  left  on  the  bow 
of  the  vessel ;  the  schooner  Mather  was  said  to  have  come  in  collision  with 
the  E.  A.  Johnson. 

Mr.  Hunt,  Assistant  District  Attorney,  stated  that  the  government  had 
no  further  testimony  to  offer  with  the  exception  of  that  of  Captain  Nieker- 
son, which  he  deemed  highly  important  and  material.  He  thought  that  the 
reading  of  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Niekerson  taken  before  the  Commissioner, 
would  be  sufficient,  if  assented  to  by  the  other  side. 

Mr.  Graves  requested  a  short  adjournment  for  the  purpose  of  reading  the 
testimony  of  Mr.  Niekerson,  and  consulting  with  his  associates  as  to  the 
proper  course  to  be  pursued. 

The  Court  said  that  this  was  a  matter  purely  for  counsel  to  consider,  and 
one  with  which  he  would  not  interfere.  He  would  accede  to  the  request  of 
defendant's  counsel,  and  adjourn  the  Court  till  twelve  o'clock. 

The  Court  then  took  a  recess.     On  reassembling, 

Mr.  Graves  desired  to  state  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  agree  with  th« 
counsel  for  the  government  as  to  the  evidence  of  Captain  Niekerson. 

Mr.  Hunt  said — My  opinion  is  that  the  testimony  of  Captain  Niekerson  is 


34  THE   TRIAL  AND    CONFESSION    OF 

material,  and  of  sufficient  importance  to  authorize  us  in  asking  the  Court  for 
an  adjournment  of  the  case  until  to-morrow. 

Mr.  Graves  would  like  to  know  if  the  Court  intended  to  limit  counsel  in 
their  address  to  the  jury. 

The  Court  said — In  a  case  of  this  kind  I  am  not  disposed  to  limit  you  in 
your  rights 'to  your  client,  or  the  government  in  their  right  toward  the  pro- 
secution. 

The  Judge,  in  addressing  the  District  Attorney,  said — Mr.  Hunt,  it  must 
be  a  very  strong  case,  indeed,  that  will  induce  the  Court  to  grant  any  fur- 
ther delay  for  this  witness.  I  will  adjourn  till  to-morrow  morning  at  ten 
o'clock,  and  the  case  must  then  proceed,  unless  some  imperative  reason  is 
shown  to  the  Court  why  it  should  not. 

After  the  usual  caution  to  the  jury,  the  Court  adjourned. 

Fifth  Day. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  court  this  morning,  some  delay  was  occasioned  by 
the  absence  of  the  leading  counsel  for  the  prisoner. 

Mr.  Sayles,  junior  counsel  for  the  prisoner,  said — May  it  please  the  Court, 
my  associate,  Mr.  Graves,  is  not  present.  I  have  learned  that  he  went  to 
Twenty-seventh  street  to  see  his  uncle  last  night,  and  I  have  not  seen  him 
since.     I  would  therefore  ask  a  short  delay. 

The  Court. — There  may  have  been  some  accident ;  you  had  better  send 
and  inquire.     The  Court  will  wait  a  few  minutes. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Hunt,  the  Assistant  District  Attorney,  said,  if  the  Court  please, 
this  will  not,  of  course,  prevent  our  doing  all  we  proposed  to  do.  "We  have 
to  inform  the  Court  that  Capt.  Nickerson,  whose  testimony  we  were  anxious 
to  obtain,  has  not  arrived,  and  we  do  not  suppose  we  shall  have  his  testimony 
to-day.  It  is  proper  I  should  state,  also,  that  we  have  never  regarded  his 
testimony  as  indispensable  in  any  sense,  for  if  we  had  we  would  not  have 
consented  to  proceed  with  the  trial  without  his  being  present.  We  have, 
however,  regarded  his  testimony  as  very  important,  as  giving  completeness 
to  the  chain  of  facts  which  we  had  it  in  our  power  to  present  to  the  Court 
and  jury ;  and  in  this  view  of  the  case  perhaps  we  were  anxious  that  the 
testimony  should  not  be  submitted  on  tke  part  of  the  government  without 
that  link  in  the  chain ;  and  we  were  desirous  of  doing  what,  as  I  understand 
it,  is  the  duty  of  the  government,  of  presenting  all  the  facts  that  it  is  in  our 
power  to  present,  before  calling  upon  the  prisoner  for  his  defence.  These  are 
the  reasons  which  influenced  the  prosecution  in  asking  for  the  delay  which 
has  been  granted ;  and  we  now  feel  that  we  have  done  all  we  could  to  pro- 
cure this  testimony,  in  order  to  give  the  evidence  such  completeness  as  is  in 
our  power,  and  we  do  not  now  feel  like  asking  the  Court  for  any  further 
delay  in  order  to  procure  the  testimony  of  Capt.  Nickerson.  We  are  obliged 
to  the  Court  for  granting  the  delay  asked  for  yesterday,  and  we  now,  under 
the  circumstances,  rest  the  case  on  the  part  of  the  government,  and  leave 
the  evidence  for  the  prosecution  as  it  now  stands. 

The  Court, — It  appears  that  Mr.  Graves,  the  senior  counsel  for  the  prisoner, 
is  not  in  attendance,  and  for  some  reason  probably  for  which  he  is  not  respon- 
sible.    The  Court  will  wait  a  reasonable  time  for  him. 

Ex-Judge  Roosevelt,  United  States  District  Attorney,  said — During  this 
short  interval  I  should  remark,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  said  by  Mr. 
Hunt,  that  upon  looking  over  this  case,  although  I  took  no  part  in  it  in  open 
v>urt,  that  the  prosecution  came  to  the  conclusion  that  this  testimony  was 
entirely  unnecessary,  though  relevant ;  and  the  only  reason  why  any  delay 
should  have  been  asked,  and  the  only  reason  why  any  delay  should  have 
been  granted,  was  to  follow  out  the  usage  founded  on  good  sense  and  on  hu- 
manity— that  usage  which  has  been  regarded,  not  by  strict  law,  but  by  a 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  35 

species  of  courtesy,  that  the  government,  being  the  stronger  party,  should 
not,  at  the  outset,  take  sides,  as  it  were,  but  develop  the  entire  case,  whe- 
ther they  lay  before  the  court  items  which  may  be  deemed  by  them  not  to 
be  very  important,  because  it  might  so  happen  to  the  mind  of  the  court  and 
the  minds  of  the  jurors,  that  those  items,  which  we  might  deem  not  impor- 
tant, should  seem  to  be  very  necessary  to  make  out  the  case.  I  did  not  con- 
sider the  testimony  of  Captain  Nickerson  in  any  other  light  than  in  comple- 
ting the  history  of  the  case.  On  the  other  side,  they  had  a  right  to  object 
to  the  introduction  of  what  Captain  Nickerson  had  sworn  to  before  the  com- 
missioner, and  it  was  perfectly  proper  they  should  do  so,  unless  the  evidence 
was  introduced  in  the  regular  way.  On  our  part  we  have  endeavored  to  do 
our  full  duty  to  the  court,  to  the  prisoner,  and  to  the  public.  We  have  tried 
to  give  every  element,  every  item  of  evidence  in  the  case  that  had  the  slight- 
est bearing  upon  it ;  and  I  would  now  say,  to  avoid  any  misapprehension, 
that  it  does  not  arise  from  any  idea  of  the  weakness  of  the  case  by  any 
means ;  but  it  is  to  till  out,  if  possible,  the  usage  of  the  courts  in  criminal 
cases.  But  we  are  unable  to  procure  this  witness ;  he  probably  is  on  the 
ocean  now,  for  he  sailed  from  Philadelphia  for  Boston  last  week,  and  is  now 
at  sea.  If,  however,  he  should  arrive  in  the  course  of  the  day,  it  will  be  for 
the  court  to  say  whether  it  will  take  his  testimony  or  not,  and  for  the  pri- 
soner's counsel  as  to  whether  they  will  object  to  it  or  not. 

The  Court. — It  appears  to  me  that  this  is  a  proper  view  of  the  case  taken 
by  the  United  States  Attorney.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  government,  especially 
in  a  case  of  high  crime — such  a  case  as  the  prisoner  is  charged  with — to  lay 
before  the  court  and  jury  all  the  evidence  they  have  in  their  power,  or  that 
they  are  cognizant  of,  which  has  any  connection  with  or  bearing  on  the 
case ;  and,  as  the  court  intimated  yesterday,  whatever  may  be  its  opinions  in 
relation  to  the  necessity  of  the  evidence,  such  as  Captain  Nickerson's  might 
be,  it  would  be  very  improper  for  the  court  to  intimate  it  at  this  stage  of 
the  trial. 

Mr.  Sayles  (prisoner's  counsel). — I  experienced  some  reluctance  in  asking 
the  court  a  further  delay  for  the  purpose  of  this  trial.  It  has  already  been 
delayed,  on  the  part  of  the  government,  for  an  entire  day.  I  would,  how- 
ever, on  the  present  occasion,  ask  the  court  to  take  a  recess  until  twelve 
o'clock,  to  accommodate  the  defendant,  in  order  that  I  may  ascertain  where 
my  partner  is,  or  that  I  may  procure  counsel  to  associate  with  me.  Mr. 
Graves  went  last  evening  to  see  his  uncle  in  Twenty-seventh  street,  and  I 
have  not  seen  or  heard  of  him.  I  would  say,  in  addition,  that  Mr.  Graves 
has  my  brief  in  his  possession. 

The  Judge  said  that  the  Court  was  very  indulgent  to  both  sides,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  importance  of  the  case,  both  to  the  public  and  the  prisoner, 
and  although  he  is  very  anxious  to  dispose  of  the  case  as  soon  as  practicable, 
yet  he  would  grant  a  delay  until  twelve  o'clock. 

On  the  reassembling  of  the  Court,  Mr.  Sayles  said  he  expected  his  associate 
every  minute,  and  he  desired  to  consnlt  with  him  as  to  the  production  of 
witnesses.  He  would  now  call  Mr.  Commissioner  White  as  to  the  testimony 
of  a  witness  named  Downes,  in  describing  the  position  of  the  sloop. 

Kenneth  G.  White,  United  States  Commissioner,  called  and  examined  by 
Mr.  Sayles,  deposed — My  impression  is  that  a  witness  named  Downes  was 
before  me  on  the  preliminary  examination  ;  I  cannot  recollect  the  particulars 
of  his  testimony  without  referring  to  my  minutes.  (Minutes  produced.)  I 
do  not  see  in  my  minutes  any  designation  made  by  Mr.  Downes  as  to  where 
th«  vessel  was ;  there  are  two  marks  on  the  chart,  one  of  which  was  made  by 
Mr.  Downes  in  court. 

Edward  Barnes,  called  for  defence,  deposed — He  resides  in  Keyport; 
knew  Capt.  Burr;  gave  him  $100  for  oysters;  this  was  on  the  15th  of 
March  ;  I  gave  him  the  money  in  quarters  and  halves,  and  ten  and  five  cent 


86  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OP 

pieces;  I  do  not  know  what  amount  of  money  he  had  with  him  ;  he  told  me 
Mr.  Simmonds  gave  him  $200. 

The  Court  said  that  was  not  evidence. 

He  put  it  in  a  bag ;  it  made  the  bag  about  half  full ;  I  cannot  identify  the 
bag. 

Mr.  Saylks  then  said  they  had  no  other  witness  for  the  defence,  and  he 
then  proceeded  to  address  the  Court  and  jury  on  behalf  of  the  prisoner.  He 
commenced  by  describing  the  sensation  created  in  this  city  by  the  intelli- 
gence of  this  transaction,  and  that  the  public  press  had  given  a  description  of 
and  directed  the  eye  of  the  community  to  this  one  man.  He  then  suggested 
that  this  tragedy  may  have  been  perpetrated  by  river  thieves  who  have  been 
driven  to  the  lower  bay  by  the  Harbor  Police,  and  who,  perhaps,  committed 
a  similar  one  on  another  sloop  on  the  same  night.  Counsel  said,  in  cases  of 
admiralty  this  court  had  a  limited  and  special  jurisdiction,  derived  from  the 
laws  of  Congress  passed  under  the  Constitution  of  our  country,  which  gives 
power  to  define  and  perish  felony  and  piracy  on  the  high  seas.  This  court, 
therefore,  had  so  much  power,  and  no  more,  It  had  no  common  law  juris- 
diction. (He  then  cited  several  authorities.)  He  claimed  that  a  portion  of 
that  act  of  Congress  was  unconstitutional ;  that  Congress  had  no  right  to 
define  and  punish  felonies  on  the  high  seas ;  it  has  no  power  to  take  away 
the  rights  of  individual  States  to  punish  the  crime  for  which  this  man  stands 
charged.  It  was  committed  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court,  and  it  had 
no  power  to  punish  for  this  felony.  He  then  read  a  reported  case  where  an 
act  of  piracy  had  been  committed  in  Boston  harbor,  and  in  which  it  was  held 
that  it  should  be  tried  in  the  courts  of  that  State. 

The  Court  remarked  that  this  was  not  a  question  for  the  jury,  but  should 
have  been  raised  on  demurrer,  or  might  be  brought  up  on  a  motion  in  arrest 
of  judgment. 

Mr.  Sayles  submitted  that  the  jury  were  the  judges  of  the  law  and  the 
facts. 

The  Court. — Not  on  questions  of  jurisdiction.  Those  questions  are  always 
for  the  Court — for  its  decision. 

Mr.  Sayles  contended  that  "on  the  high  seas"  meant  either  in  the  har- 
bor of  some  foreign  country,  or  beyond  any  portion  of  a  coast  where  the  sea 
ebbs  and  flows. 

The  Court  remarked  that  this  was  the  opinion  of  English  lawyers,  but 
did  not  apply  to  American  laws. 

Mr.  Sayles  said — We  have  adopted  the  English  common  law. 

The  Court. — Only  to  a  limited  extent. 

Mr.  Sayles  then  cited  from  "  Chitty's  Criminal  Law,"  vol.  iii.,  which  says, 
14  that  the  piracy  must  be  distinctly  proved  to  have  been  committed  on  the 
high  seas,  or  the  defendant  is  entitled  to  an  acquittal."  According  to  that 
law  the  admiralty  had  no  jurisdiction  within  the  limits  of  any  county  or 
city.  The  counsel  then  proceeded  to  appeal  to  the  reason  of  the  jury,  and 
lay  the  facts  before  them.  It  was  a  case  of  great  importance,  not  only 
to  the  federal  government  and  to  the  community,  but  also  to  the  unfor- 
tunate prisoner  at  the  bar,  and  he  called  upon  the  jury  to  elevate  their 
minds  above  outside  prejudices.  A  supposed  tragedy  had  been  committed 
in  the  lower  bay,  and  the  government  had  undertaken  to  show,  by  cir- 
cumstantial evidence,  that  this  is  the  man  who  perpetrated  it.  Counsel 
referred  to  the  nature  of  circumstantial  evidence,  and  alluded  to  the  re- 
cent case  in  this  court,  where  some  half  dozen  witnesses  swore  positively 
to  a  man  named  Williams  for  post-office  robbery,  and  subsequently  swore 
as  positively  against  another  man,  who  was  convicted. 

Mr.  Hunt,  in  reply,  directed  the  court  in  support  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States  courts  over  the  lower  bay. 

Mr.  Graves,  for  the  defence,  referred  to  the  case  of  the  two  Bournes, 


ALBERT  W.  HICKS,  THE  PIRATE.  37 

in  Vermont,  who  confessed  to  the  crime  of  murder,  but  were  afterward 
proved  to  be  innocent.  The  evidence  against  Hicks  was  entirely  circum- 
stantial, and  of  such  a  character  as  to  render  it  very  uncertain ;  but  the 
most  astonishing  thing  about  the  prosecntion  was  the  charge  that  this  one 
man  should  kill  these  three  men,  powerful  as  they  were,  and  not  receive 
&  single  scratch.  There  must  have  been  a  terrible  struggle ;  blood  was 
spattered  over  the  ceiling,  blood  everywhere,  but  no  blood  on  him,  no 
mark  of  violence  on  his  person. 

Mr.  Hunt  remarked  that  the  only  questions  of  law  upon  which  there 
had  been  any  dispute,  were  ruled  upon  by  the  Court,  and  he  had  nothing 
further  to  say. 

Mr.  Dwight  then  proceeded  to  sum  up  on  the  part  of  the  government. 
He  had  hoped  that  there  might  have  been  some  chance  of  the  innocence  of 
the  prisoner  found  in  the  course  of  the  trial.  But  he  had  been  disappointed  ; 
nothing  which  had  been  asserted  by  the  witnesses  for  the  prosecution  had 
been  contradicted.  No  attempt  had  been  made  to  break  any  one  link  in  the 
chain  of  the  evidence.  The  defence  would  endeavor  to  induce  the  jury  to 
believe  that  Capt.  Burr  parted  with  his  watch,  which  he  had  carried  for 
nine  years,  to  a  pawnbroker ;  that  Smith  Watts  had  parted  with  the  clothes 
which  his  aged  mother  had  put  up  for  him ;  that  Oliver  Watts  had  parted 
with  the  daguerreotype  of  the  girl  he  loved.  The  time  had  not  yet  come 
when  Yankee  sailor  boys  gave  up  the  pictures  of  "  the  girls  they  left  behind 
them  "  without  a  struggle.  Mr.  Dwight  then  clearly  and  concisely  reviewed 
the  whole  case  and  the  testimony,  giving  a  painful  but  graphic  description  of 
that  dread  night  when  this  triple  deed  of  blood  was  perpetrated,  and  con- 
cluded thus :  Gentlemen,  I  have  occupied  your  time  longer  than  I  intended, 
and  I  have  but  one  word  further  to  say.  If  this  prisoner  is  not  proven 
guilty  of  the  crime  against  him,  he  is  of  course  an  innocent  man.  If  there 
is  in  the  breast  of  any  of  you  one  doubt  concerning  his  guilt — one  reasonable 
doubt  as  to  his  having  committed  this  robbery  of  George  H.  Burr,  as  set 
forth  in  the  indictment,  in  God's  name  give  him  the  benefit  of  that  doubt. 
It  is  his  sacred  privilege,  and  it  is  just  as  much  his  right  as  he  has  a  right  to 
his  life  or  his  liberty.  If  you  have  any  doubt  upon  considering  the  evidence, 
give  him  the  benefit  of  that  doubt,  or  any  which  you  may  have.  But,  gen- 
tlemen, if  through  the  five  days  of  this  trial  there  has  crept  into  your  minds 
a  conviction  that  he  is  the  man,  and  if  that  conviction  has  been  strengthened 
by  the  evidence  which  has  been  adduced  and  placed  before  you — that  no 
other  but  he  had  committed  this  crime,  then  I  say  that  his  conviction  is  the 
property  of  the  government,  and  I  charge  you  to  give  it  to  the  government. 
Here,  in  your  seats,  where  you  have  sat  during  these  five  days  listening  to 
the  opening  and  the  testimony,  and  the  closing  upon  the  part  of  the  govern- 
ment— here,  in  your  very  seats,  I  charge  you  to  give  the  benefit  of  your 
conviction  to  the  government,  and  I  charge  you  to  do  this  in  your  jary  box 
without  any  hesitation.  Gentlemen,  there  was  no  hesitation  on  his  part; 
with  that  sharp  axe  he  cut  down  the  fair-haired  boy,  Watts;  and  then 
returned  and  felled  the  other :  and  then  the  death  struggle  with  the  captain 
occurred.  Gentlemen,  there  was  no  hesitation  there  ;  and  if  you  are  con- 
vinced of  his  guilt,  let  there  be  no  hesitation  in  your  rendering  in  your  jury 
box  a  verdict  against  him.  There  cries  from  the  sands  of  Islip,  "justice  ;" 
from  that  widow  and  from  that  mother.  There  comes  up  from  the  depths 
of  the  Atlantic,  "  from  all  the  ships  that  float  on  it,  and  all  that  go  down  ia 
the  great  deep  " — there  comes  the  cry  of  "justice."  The  prisoner  equally 
calls  upon  you  to  do  justice  ;  and  gentlemen,  I  ask  you,  in  the  name  of  the 
government,  if  you  believe  him  guilty  of  this  crime,  which  he  committed 
speedily,  summarily  and  devilishly,  that  you  will  let  your  verdict  be  speedy, 
Buramary  and  just. 

During  the  whole  of  Mr.  Dwight's  address,  which  occupied  nearly  an  hour. 


38  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

the  prisoner  was  still  unmoved;  he  never  winced,  but  coolly  twisted  and 
turned  a  pen  in  his  hand,  pointing  it  to  the  table,  and  scarcely  once  looked 
up. 

Judge  Smallet  said  it  was  now  past  four  o'clock,  and  he  desired  to  look 
into  some  authorities  which  had  been  referred  to ;  he  would  not  charge  the 
jury  until  morning. 

The  Court  then  adjourned  to  Saturday  morning,  at  ten  o'clock.  The 
prisoner  was  removed,  in  irons,  by  Deputy  Marshals  De  Angelis  and  Dugan, 
who  had  special  charge  of  him,  and  who  kept  a  sharp  watch  that  he  should 
have  no  rrieana  of  suicidal  death  at  hand,  nor  make  any  effectual  effort 
to  escape. 

The  court-room  was,  as  it  had  been  every  day  during  this  extraordinary 
trial,  densely  crowded. 

Sixth  Day. 

THE  VERDICT. 

Judge  Smalley  charged  the  jury.  He  instructed  them  that  the  case  was 
clearly  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court,  the  occurrence  having  taken 
place  in  the  harbor.  The  jury  retired  at  10:36,  and  after  having  been  out 
seven  minutes,  returned  and  announced  that  they  had  agreed  upon  a  verdict. 
The  prisoner  was  directed  to  stand  up,  which  he  did  readily,  exhibiting  little 
or  no  emotion.  In  a  scarcely  audible  voice  the  foreman  then  announced 
that  the  jury  found  him  Guilty  of  the  crime  with  which  he  was  charged. 
Hicks  appeared  to  be  somewhat  stupefied  by  the  announcement,  but  resumed 
his  seat  again  when  the  counsel  told  him  to.  The  Court  then  remanded  him 
for  sentence,  and  he  quietly  held  out  his  hands  for  the  handcuffs.  His 
counsel,  Mr.  Eagles,  then  asked  the  Court  to  set  some  time  in  which  to  make 
a  motion  for  arrest  of  judgment.  Judge  Smalley  designated  10  a.m.  on 
"Wednesday  as  the  time  for  making  such  motion.  Hicks  was  then  conducted 
back  to  the  Tombs  by  the  officers  having  him  in  charge. 

A  motion  for  a  new  trial  was  afterward  argued  and  denied.  Immediately 
after  decision,  the  sentence  of  death  was  passed  upon  him,  the  day  fixed  for 
his  excution  being  Friday,  the  13  th  of  July,  on  Bedloe's  Island. 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  39 


THE 

CONFESSION  OF  ALBERT  W.  HICKS, 

•PIEATE  AND  MUEDEEEK. 


OFriCK  U.  S.  Mabshal,  Southern  District  of  New  York. 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  within  Confession  of  Albert  W.  Hioks  was 
*ade  by  him  to  me,  and  that  it  is  the  only  confession  made  by  him. 

Lorenzo  de  Angelis,  Deputy   U.  S.  Marshal. 
July  9,  1860. 

After  his  sentence,  Hicks  seemed  to  lose  that  firmness  which  he  had 
hitherto  manifested.  His  reckless  indifference  left  him,  and  in  place  of 
the  stolid  look  which  had  marked  his  face  from  the  time  of  his  arrest, 
an  appearance  of  deep  anxiety  gave  token  that  he  had  abandoned  the 
hope  which  had  supported  him,  and  that  dread  of  his  approaching 
fate,  if  not  remorse  for  his  crimes,  had  taken  possession  of  him. 

He  seemed  to  dread  being  left  alone,  and  often  besought  his  keeper 
and  the  warden  of  the  prison  to  keep  him  company  in  his  cell.  He  was 
frequently  found  in  tears,  and  on  being  questioned  as  to  the  cause  of 
his  grief,  expressed  a  deep  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  future  of  his  wife 
and  child,  about  fifteen  months  old. 

He  was  often  begged  to  make  a  free  confession  of  his  crimes,  and 
though  at  first  he  stoutly  denied  having  anything  to  confess,  he  at  last 
sent  for  Mr.  De  Angelis,  and  offered  not  only  to  confess  the  crime 
of  which  he  stood  convicted,  but  also  to  give  a  history  of  his  whole 
life  in  detail,  from  his  childhood  up  to  the  time  of  his  arrest,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  confession  should  not  be  published  until  the  day  of  his 
execution,  and  that  all  the  proceeds  arising  from  its  sale  should  be 
given  to  his  wife. 

This  was  agreed  to  by  Mr.  De  Angelis,  and  accordingly,  on  the  13th 
of  June,  that  gentleman,  accompanied  by  an  amanuensis,  visited  Hicks 
in  his  cell,  and  there  listened  to  his  confession,  which  is  given  below  in 


40  THE    TRIAL    AND    CONFESSION    OF 

the  precise  order  in  which  he  related  it,  though  not  in  his  own  words, 
his  command  of  language  being  exceedingly  limited.  The  true  spirit 
of  the  narrative  is  strictly  preserved,  however,  and  wild,  monstrous,  and 
terrible  as  the  details  are,  there  is  no  doubt  of  their  truth. 

After  Mr.  De  Angelis  and  the  amanuensis  had  taken  seats,  Hicks 
being  seated  upon  his  iron  bedstead,  proceeded  as  follows  : 

I  can  stand  it  no  longer.  I  had  hoped  that  I  should  carry  the 
secrets  of  my  life  with  me  to  my  grave.  I  never  thought  that  I  should 
sit  here  in  my  cell  crying  like  a  baby,  over  the  remembrance  of  the 
past,  or  that  my  heart  would  flinch  at  meeting  any  fate  in  store  for  me. 

I  fancied  I  bore  a  charmed  life,  and  that  having  heretofore  escaped 
so  many  dangers,  I  should  find  some  loop-hole  through  which  to  creep 
now,  or  that  something  would  turn  up  in  my  favor  which  would  lead  to 
my  escape  from  the  mesh  into  which  I  had  fallen. 

I  have  long  felt  as  though  I  were  the  Devil's  own,  and  that  though 
he  had  served  me  so  many  years,  I  must  at  last  be  his  ;  still  I  imagined 
he  would  not  claim  me  yet,  but  allow  me  to  do  his  work  for  a  time 
longer.  He  has  stood  by  me  all  my  life,  on  ship  and  on  shore  ;  amid 
the  howling  storms  of  the  ocean,  where  every  moment  the  waves 
threatened  to  ingulf  me,  he  has  snatched  me  from  their  deadly  em- 
brace ;  on  the  battle-field,  in  many  a  hand-to-hand  fight  he  has  seemed 
to  stand  by  my  side,  protecting  me  from  danger  ;  and  when  I  have  been 
in  the  hands  of  my  enemies,  and  escape  has  appeared  impossible,  he 
has,  until  now,  invariably  opened  the  way  for  my  release.  But  at  last 
he  has  deserted  me  ;  in  vain  I  call  upon  him,  he  will  not  answer  me  ; 
and  I  dare  not  call  on  God,  for  what  pity  should  he  show  a  guilty 
wreteh  like  me  ? 

For  years  conscience  has  slumbered  ;  I  have  not  heard  her  voice 
at  all.  No  deed  of  desperation  has  seemed  to  me  too  desperate  ;  no 
crime  has  seemed  too  dark  or  bloody.  My  soul  seemed  dead  to  all 
remorse  or  dread,  and  fear  has  been  a  feeling  which,  until  now,  I  have 
never  known. 

But  in  this  lonely  cell,  away  from  all  the  excitements  which  have 
always  been  the  support  of  my  restless  nature — within  these  solemn 
walls,  where  I  see  none  but  those  who  guard  me,  or  those  come  to  look 
at  me,  as  upon  some  wild  beast  ;  here,  where  no  sounds  fall  upon  my 
ear  bat  the  footsteps  of  the  keeper,  as  he  paces  with  measured  tread 
the  long  corridor  outside,  or  harsh,  discordant  clank  of  heavy  doors 
slamming,  or  the  grating  of  bolts  and  the  creaking  of  hinges — con- 
science, so  long  dead,  has  at  last  awakened,  and  now  stings  me  with 
anguish,  and  fills  my  soul  with  dread  and  horror. 


ALBERT  W.  HICKS,  THE  PIRATE.  4] 

I  look  back  upon  my  way  of  life,  and  see  the  path  marked  with  blood 
and  crime,  and  in  the  still  midnight,  if  I  sleep,  I  act  the  dreadful  scenes 
anew.  Again  I  imbrue  my  hand  in  the  red  blood  of  my  victims; 
again  I  rob  the  unsuspecting  traveller,  or  violate  the  most  sacred  sanc- 
tities of  life,  to  satisfy  my  greed  of  gold,  or  headstrong,  unchecked  pas- 
sions ;  and  if  I  wake,  I  seem  to  see  my  victims  glaring  at  me  through 
the  gloom  of  my  cell,  or  hear  them  shriek  aloud  for  vengeance  on  my 
guilty  head. 

The  past  is  one  great  horror  !  The  future  one  dread  fear.  A  heavy, 
insupportable  weight  is  on  my  heart,  and  I  feel  as  if,  did  I  not  reveal 
its  fearful  secrets,  I  should  go  mad. 

But  I  have  resisted  the  impulse  until  now,  and  would  die  and  tell  no 
tales,  but  that  the  history  of  my  life  may  serve  as  a  warning  to  man- 
kind, and  may  benefit  my  wife,  perhaps,  though  it  will  make  her  bow 
her  head  in  deep  shame  over  the  crimes  of  him  who  is  the  father  of  her 
child. 

I  feel  that  after  I  have  unburdened  myself  of  the  secrets  of  my  life,  I 
can  die  easier,  and  meet  my  fate  like  a  man;'  and  though  I  may  go  to 
the  gallows  without  hope,  without  repentance,  without  any  evidence  of 
aught  but  misery  hereafter,  the  thought  that  the  sale  of  this,  my  Con- 
fession, will  perhaps  keep  the  mother  of  my  child  from  dependence  on 
such  cold  charity  as  the  world  would  show  a  murderer's  wife,  will  make 
me  stronger  to  bear  the  inevitable  doom  which  is  now  awaiting  me. 

For  my  own  sake  I  would  not  have  done  this;  but  for  the  sake  of 
her  whose  fate  I  have  linked  in  life  to  mine,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
poor  little  child,  who  I  trust  will  never  know  who  was  its  father,  I  give 
to  the  world  the  wretched 


STORY   OF   MY   LIFE. 

I  was  born  about  the  year  1820,  in  the  town  of  Foster,  State  of 
Rhode  Island. 

My  father  was  a  farmer,  and  had  seven  sons,  of  whom  I  was  the 
youngest  but  one. 

I  worked  on  the  farm  until  I  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  though  I 
had  opportunities  of  receiving  the  benefit  of  public  instruction,  I  never 
attended  school,  or  profited  by  the  advantages  offered  me  to  improve 
my  condition  in  life  by  any  honest  or  legitimate  means. 

I  was  naturally  of  a  wild,  restless,  reckless  disposition,  fonder  of 
wandering  about  the  fields,  or  lounging  by  the  brook  side,  than  follow- 
ing habits  of  industry,  and  among  my  companions  was  noted  for  my 


42  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

headstrong,  imperious  manner,  and  was  always  foremost  in  all  youthful 
frolics  and  scrapes,  never  feeling  satisfied  unless  I  could  outdo  my  com 
panions  in  any  enterprise  of  fun  or  mischief. 

My  only  ambition  was  to  be  rich;  but  I  had  no  desire  to  acquire 
riches  in  the  plodding  way  in  which  our  neighbors  went  through  life; 
my  dream  was  to  become  suddenly  rich  by  some  bold  stroke,  and  then 
to  give  free  reins  to  the  passions  and  desires  which  governed  me. 

I  never,  even  as  a  boy,  hoarded  money.  I  did  not  care  for  the  mere 
possession  of  it.  It  was  only  valuable  to  me  as  the  means  of  gratifying 
my  passions. 

I  used  to  wish  that  I  could  find  the  pots  of  gold  and  silver  which 
rumor  said  had  been  buried  in  our  neighborhood  by  pirates  and  rob- 
bers, and  used  to  listen  with  rapt  attention  to  stories  of  pirates,  rob- 
bers, highwaymen,  etc.,  which  my  companions  used  sometimes  to 
relate. 

My  father  compelled  me  to  work,  and  though  I  had  no  taste  for  it, 
when  ©nee  in  the  field  my  ambition  to  excel  always  brought  me  out 
first  at  the  end  of  the  row  or  swath,  and  having  some  mechanical  skill, 
I  was  often  called  upon  to  do  jobs  about  the  farm  which  saved  calling 
upon  the  wheelwright  or  carpenter. 

But  by  the  time  I  was  fifteen  years  of  age  I  grew  tired  of  the  mono- 
tonous life  I  had  been  leading,  and  my  desire  to  roam  and  see  the 
world,  and  seek  my  fortune,  took  entire  possession  of  me  ;  so  I  began 
making  my  preparations  to  run  away.  I  got  together  a  small  sum  of 
money,  by  hook  and  by  crook  ;  and  one  night,  after  all  were  asleep,  I 
stealthily  left  the  house,  and  took  the  road  to  Providence,  from  whence 
I  proceeded  to  Norwich,  Conn. 

Here  I  took  the  first  important  step  in  that  career  of  crime  which 
has  made  me  a  prisoner  in  this  cell,  and  which  will  lead  me  eventually 
to  the  gallows. 

After  arriving  at  Norwich,  I  wandered  about,  seeking  not  employ- 
ment, but  some  means  of  gratifying  my  desire  for  money  in  an  easier 
way  ;  and  during  the  day  I  strayed  into  the  railroad  depot,  where  I 
observed  a  number  of  trunks,  packages  of  goods,  etc.,  a  part  of  which 
I  determined  to  appropriate  to  myself.  I  hung  about  the  depot  until 
night,  and  then  watching  my  opportunity,  I  seized  a  package  of  goods  ; 
and  leaving  the  depot  in  all  haste,  made  my  way  outside  of  the  town 
to  some  woods,  where  I  examined  the  package,  which  contained  laces 
and  silks .  I  secreted  some  of  the  things  about  me  ;  and,  not  knowing 
any  one  to  whom  I  could  dispose  of  them  there,  I  determined  to  go 
back  home,  which  I  reached  in  the  course  of  a  few  days. 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,   THE    PIRATE.  43 

My  parents  were  very  angry  with  me,  and  tried  to  learn  where  I  had 
been  ;  but  I  kept  a  still  tongue,  and  sold  the  goods  secretly  to  a  ped- 
dler who  stopped  at  the  house. 

But  the  goods  were  missed,  and,  as  I  had  been  seen  prowling  about 
the  railroad  station,  suspicion  naturally  fell  on  me  ;  and  the  officers 
having  no  difficulty  in  getting  on  my  track,  I  was  followed  and  ar- 
rested one  night  at  my  father's  house,  after  I  had  been  in  bed  some 
time. 

I  was  fast  asleep  ;  the  officers  awoke  me,  and  putting  a  pair  of  hand- 
cuffs on  me,  carried  me  back  with  them  to  Norwich,  where  I  was  tried 
and  sentenced  to  a  year  and  six  months'  imprisonment  in  the  Nerwijch 
jail. 

I  remained  in  confinement  about  three  months,  when  I  managed  to 
make  my  escape,  and  went  to  Lowerpart,  Gloucester,  Rhode  Island, 
where  I  went  to  work  on  a  farm.  But  my  whereabouts  was  discovered, 
and  in  six  weeks  from  the  time  of  my  escape  I  was  re-arrested  and 
taken  back  to  Norwich  jail,  and  put  to  work  in  the  quarries,  with  a 
ball  and  chain  fastened  to  my  leg. 

I  had  been  at  work  a  month  in  this  way,  when  one  day,  by  means 
of  a  stone  hammer  and  chisel,  I  broke  the  chain  from  my  leg,  and  run- 
ning off,  made  for  the  woods,  pursued  for  some  miles  by  a  strong 
party  of  officers. 

I  took  refuge  in  a  house  by  the  roadside,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  them  go  by  at  full  speed,  supposing  me  to  be  still  ahead  of  them. 

As  soon  as  they  had  passed,  I  left  the  house  and  took  to  the  woods, 
where  I  remained  hid  in  some  bushes  until  night,  when  I  came  out  and 
took  the  road  to  Providence. 

Early  the  next  morning  I  was  stopped  on  the  way  by  a  man  on 
horseback,  who  knew  me  to  be  an  escaped  convict  by  the  clothes  I 
wore,  not  having  had  an  opportunity  of  changing  them. 

As  soon  as  I  saw  him,  I  made  for  the  woods  by  the  side  of  the  road. 
He  dismounted  and  followed  me,  and,  being  a  good  runner,  had  nearly 
overtaken  me,  when  I  turned  and  stood  at  bay. 

We  had  a  long  and  terrible  struggle  in  the  mud  and  water  of  the 
swamp,  he  all  the  time  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice  for  assistance, 
which  brought  the  neighbors  to  his  aid  before  I  could  effect  my  deter- 
mination to  kill  him,  which  I  had  fully  made  up  my  mind  to  do  rather 
than  allow  myself  to  be  taken. 

I  was,  of  course,  overpowered  by  numbers,  and  after  being  safely 
bound,  was  reconducted  back  to  Norwich,  where  I  was  punished  and 
kept  in  close  solitary  confinement  for  more  than  a  year. 


44  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

During  this  confinement,  it  seemed  as  if  every  wicked  quality  of  my 
mind  was  brought  out  in  full  activity.  I  used  to  sit  and  plan  all  sorts 
of  desperate  schemes,  and  a  feeling  of  the  most  unquenchable  vengeance 
took  possession  of  me.  For  I  fancied  myself  persecuted,  wronged  and 
ill-treated  ;  I  imagined  the  world  had  declared  war  against  me,  and  I 
determined,  as  soon  as  my  term  of  imprisonment  should  expire,  to  war 
in  turn  upon  the  world. 

At  last  the  long  wished  for  end  of  my  imprisonment  came,  and  I  was 
discharged.  Swearing  vengeance  against  the  whole  human  race,  I  left 
the  jail  and  went  back  to  my  father's  house,  where  I  remained  for  a 
short  time  and  then  went  to  Lower  Gloucester,  where  I  went  to  work 
in  a  shoe  manufactory,  having  learned  that  trade  during  my  confine- 
ment in  the  Norwich  jail. 

But  this  hum-drum  sort  of  life  was  little  suited  to  me,  and  besides,  I 
felt  so  incensed  against  mankind  that  I  found  it  impossible  to  restrain 
my  thirst  for  vengeance  on  society  for  the  fancied  wrongs  it  had  done 
me,  so  I  resolved  to  go  again  out  into  the  world  ;  and  going  to  Provi- 
dence, an  old  shipping  master,  by  the  name  of  Chittel,  shipped  me  on 
board  the  whaleship  Philip  Tabb,  bound  to  the  northwest  coast  of 
America.  The  ship  belonged  to  Warren,  K.  L,  where  I  joined  her  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days. 

I  no  sooner  got  on  board  than  I  began  to  make  mischief  among  the 
grew,  among  whom  I  got  up  a  series  of  rows  and  fights.  I  gratified  my 
wicked  and  evil  propensities  with  a  total  disregard  of  consequences 
either  to  them  or  myself.  I  had  no  fear,  nor  did  I  care  for  anybody  or 
anything. 

The  captain  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  sail,  and  not  wishing  that  he 
should  for  a  few  days,  when  we  reached  Newport  I  incited  a  mutiny, 
which  resulted  in  a  fight,  in  which  the  mutineers  got  the  worst  of  it, 
and  two  men  were  sent  ashore  in  irons. 

The  captain  thinking  that  he  had  rid  himself  of  the  ring-leaders — 
although  the  men  sent  ashore  were  really  the  most  innocent  of  the 
crew — again  set  sail  and  proceeded  on  the  cruise. 

For  a  few  weeks  everything  went  on  smoothly  enough,  but  in  a  short 
time  I  succeeded  in  sowing  dissatisfaction  among  the  crew,  which  in  the 
end  led  to  another  mutiny  ;  my  idea  being,  if  possible,  to  get  possession 
of  the  ship. 

The  captain  and  mates  triad  first  to  quiet  the  men  by  fair  words,  but 
failing  by  these  means  to  get  them  to  resume  their  work,  they  armed 
themselves,  and  a  hard  and  desperate  fight  took  place  in  which  the 
captain  and  first  and  second  mates  were  very  badly  cut  with  knives  and 


ALBERT    W     HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  4i 

axes.  The  mutineers  were,  however,  again  subdued,  and  two  of  them 
were  put  in  irons.  I  played  my  cards  so  well,  that  notwithstanding  I 
had  incited  the  whole  affair,  and  was  in  all  respects  responsible  for  it, 
the  captain  did  not  suspect  the  part  I  had  taken,  and  I  escaped  un- 
punished. 

When  we  arrived  at  Wahoo,  Sandwich  Islands,  the  mutineers  who 
had  been  put  in  irons,  were  whipped  with  the  cat,  on  board  ship,  till 
they  were  nearly  dead.  While  we  remained  in  port,  the  captain  think- 
ing to  gain  the  good  will  of  the  crew,  permitted  us  to  go  on  shore  nearly 
every  day,  and  the  men  would  have  been  well  disposed  toward  him  if 
I  had  not  continually  poisoned  their  minds  against  him. 

While  on  shore  I  engaged  in  every  kind  of  wickedness  ;  I  robbed  and 
beat  the  natives,  and  was  finally  taken  by  the  authorities  and  locked  up 
until  the  vessel  was  ready  for  sea. 

I  imagined  that  I  had  been  arrested  at  the  instigation  of  the  captain, 
and  I  determined  that  as  soon  as  we  were  once  more  in  blue  water,  I 
would  be  revenged  upon  him  for  it,  but  no  opportunity  occurred  before 
we  reached  our  cruising  ground,  where  we  only  took  one  whale,  and 
were  then  obliged  to  put  back  to  Wahoo  for  repairs,  the  ship  being 
leaky. 

On  our  way  back,  one  of  the  boat-steerers  having  been  observed  in 
conversation  with  me  by  the  captain,  was  questioned  in  relation  to  the 
subject  of  it,  which  he  refused  to  disclose.  The  captain  then  commenced 
to  abuse  the  boai-steerer,  and  from  words  they  soon  came  to  blows.  The 
boat-steerer,  who  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  captain,  would  have 
overpowered  him,  but  that  the  first  mate  interfered.  He  no  sooner 
did  so,  than  seizing  a  belaying-pin,  I  felled  him  to  the  deck,  and  the 
other  officers  coming  up,  a  general  fight  took  place. 

The  boat-steerer  and  myself  succeeded  in  giving  them  a  severe  beat- 
ing, and  had  complete  possession  of  the  ship,  for  the  rest  of  the  crew 
were  afraid  of  us,  and  did  not  dare,  even  if  they  had  been  disposed,  to 
take  sides  with  the  officers,  whom  we  drove  below,  with  the  exception  of 
the  first  mate,  who  still  lay  insensible  upon  the  deck. 

After  this,  the  boat-steerer  and  myself  held  a  consultation,  and  had 
we  been  navigators,  which  we  were  not,  it  being  our  first  voyage,  or 
had  we  even  known  where  we  were,  or  what  course  to  sail,  we  should 
have  murdered  all  the  officers,  and  taken  the  ship. 

Two  days  afterward,  on  coming  on  deck,  we  found  the  ship  was 
approaching  land,  and  a  number  of  vessels  in  sight,  which  forced  us  to 
alter  our  plaus.  So  we  released  the  officers,  who  brought  the  ship  to 
anchor   in  the   harbor  of  Owahie,   S.  L,  where  we  remained  about 


46  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

a  week,  none  of  the  crew  being  allowed  to  go  on  shore,  and  the  boat- 
steerer  and  myself,  knowing  that  while  in  port,  and  in  sight  of 
other  vessels,  the  captain  had  us  in  his  power,  and  could  at  any  time 
have  punished  us,  asked  forgiveness,  and  stood  upon  our  good 
behavior  until  we  put  to  sea  again,  after  repairing  ship. 

On  our  way  out  we  touched  at  the  Marquis  Island,  and  then  cruised 
a  season  on  the  whaling  ground ;  but,  not  being  successful,  we  left,  and 
went  into  Typie  Bay. 

One  day,  having  permission  to  go  on  shore  with  the  boat-steerer  and 
some  of  the  crew,  we  landed  on  one  of  the  islands  for  the  purpose 
of  procuring  cocoa-nuts  and  wild  figs,  with  which  the  place  abounded. 

After  securing  as  many  figs  and  nuts  as  we  wanted,  we  were  about 
returning  to  the  ship,  when  we  were  attacked  by  the  natives. 

A  desperate  fight  took  place.  We  killed  a  number  of  the  natives, 
and  succeeded  in  driving  off  the  rest,  and  thus  having  a  taste  for 
blood,  and  the  demon  in  me  being  fully  aroused,  I  suggested  to  the 
boat-steerer,  that  this  would  be  a  good  time  to  kill  the  officers,  and 
take  the  ship.  He  agreed  to  the  proposition,  and  so  did  those  who 
were  with  us,  and  it  was  arranged  that  as  soon  as  we  were  on  board, 
each  should  select  his  man — kill  him  at  once,  and  then  put  to  sea, 
steering  as  well  as  we  could  for  the  western  coast  of  America. 

There  were  two  boats.  The  boat-steerer  and  myself  being  in  one, 
with  a  portion  of  the  crew,  and  the  balance  of  the  party  in  the 
other. 

Our  boat  reached  the  ship  last,  and  when  we  got  on  board  we  found 
the  officers  armed  and  fully  prepared  to  receive  us.  It  was  evident  we 
had  been  betrayed,  and  I  afterward  learned  that  one  of  the  men  in  the 
first  boat  informed  the  captain  of  our  intentions  as  soon  as  he  arrived 
on  board. 

As  soon  as  our  feet  trod  the  deck  a  bloody  and  desperate  fight 
ensued,  in  which  the  officers  were  assisted  by  a  portion  of  the  crew,  and 
they  finally  succeeded,  though  not  without  being  severelly  wounded,  in 
disarming  and  securing  the  boat-steerer  and  myself,  and  put  us  in  double 
irons. 

They  kept  us  it  the  run  of  the  ship  until  we  touched  at  Wahoo,  when 
we  were  set  ashore. 

We  were  no  sooner  on  land  than  we  gave  free  vent  to  all  our  pas- 
sions and  desires.  There  was  not  a  day  went  by  we  did  not  commit  a 
robbery,  and  had  it  been  necessary  we  should  not  have  hesitated  to 
have  added  murder  to  our  other  crimes.  At  last  we  were  taken  and 
locked  up  until  the  ship  was  ready  for  sea  again,  when  we  were  sent  on 


*.  ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  4  T 

board  and  kept  in  irons  until  we  arrived  at  an  island — the  name  of  which 
I  do  not  now  remember-  -where  we  were  allowed  to  go  on  shore,  and  got 
into  a  fight  with  the  natives,  who  succeeded  in  driving  us  to  our  boats. 

Daring  our  stay  here  another  disturbance  and  mutiny  was  organized 
by  me,  in  which  the  officers  were  disabled,  and  the  ship  having  again 
become  leaky  we  put  back  to  Wahoo,  where  she  was  condemned 
and  the  crew  discharged  ;  myself  and  the  boat-steerer  making  our 
escape  to  the  interior  to  avoid  the  consequences  of  our  mutinous 
Gonduct. 

For  a  long  time  we  led  the  life  of  freebooters,  robbing  and  plunder 
ing  wherever  we  went,  and  dissipating  the  proceeds  of  our  robberies  in 
the  wildest  debauchery. 

At  last  I  was  taken,  and,  for  the  third  time,  incarcerated  in  the 
prison  at  Wahoo,  but  was  released  through  the  intercession  of  the  cap- 
tain of  a  Dutch  ship,  the  Villa  de  Poel,  of  Amsterdam,  who  gave  me  a 
berth  on  board. 

We  sailed  for  the  Bay  of  Magdalina,  California,  where  we  took  a 
right  whale,  and  when  we  had  towed  him  along  side  the  ship  a  quarrel 
took  place  between  me  and  the  mate.  We  had  a  desperate  fight,  but 
they  overpowered  me  and  put  me  in  irons. 

But  the  second  mate  and  myself  had  previous  to  this  opened  our 
minds  to  one  another,  and  finding  we  were  of  the  same  way  of  thinking, 
we  became  warm  friends. 

He  was  an  American,  a  native  of  Boston,  and  he  succeeded  in  pro- 
curing my  release,  and  put  me  on  as  boat-steerer. 

The  second  mate  and  myself  finding  that  we  should  stand  no  chance 
in  case  of  trouble,  the  whole  crew  with  the  exception  of  ourselves  being 
Dutch,  resolved  to  leave  the  ship  on  the  first  opportunity  which  pre- 
sented itself. 

We  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  one  night  when  we  were  lying  to, 
near  shore,  on  which  a  tent  had  been  pitched,  we  armed  ourselves  with 
pistols  and  cutlasses,  and  taking  a  boat  from  the  davits,  we  dropped 
into  it  quietly  and  went  ashore,  taking  possession  of  the  tent. 

In  the  morning  our  absence  was  discovered,  and  a  boat  was  sent  from 
the  ship  to  bring  us  on  board,  but  being  well  armed  we  would  not  allow 
them  to  land,  and  they  were  obliged  to  go  back.  Another  boat  came, 
but  we  resolutely  refused  to  go  back  and  would  not  allow  them  to  land 
until  the  captain  had  agreed  to  pay  us  off  and  give  us  our  discharge. 
This,  after  some  parleying,  he  consented  to,  and  we  took  the  ship's  boat 
and  put  out  into  the  bay,  where  we  boarded  and  joined  the  barque 
Fanny,  of  New  Bedford. 


45  THE    TKIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

We  sailed  immediately  for  Cape  St.  Lucas,  California,  and  not  meet 
ing  with  any  success,  proceeded  to  the  Bay  of  St.  Josephs,  where  we  left 
the  ship,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years,  during  which  time  I  passed 
through  a  series  of  adventures  almost  too  numerous  to  mention,  and  the 
details  of  which  would  fill  a  volume,  we  found  ourselves  in  Lower  Cali- 
fornia about  the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  War. 

We  remained  here  about  a  year,  living  a  wild,  guerrilla  life,  plundering 
all  who  promised  anything  like  booty,  and  never  hesitating  to  take  the 
lives  of  such  as  resisted  us  or  were  likely  to  betray  us.  We  spared 
neither  sex  nor  age.  How  many  times,  during  this  period,  I  dyed  my 
hands  in  human  blood,  I  do  not  know.  No  prayers,  no  entreaties  moved 
us  ;  it  seemed  as  if  my  heart  was  dead  to  every  human  feeling,  and  was 
a  stranger  to  pity  and  every  soft  emotion. 

Often  at  midnight,  when  all  nature  slept,  and  none  were  abroad  save 
the  wild  beasts  and  we  wilder  men — the  former  not  so  much  to  be 
feared  as  we,  nor  yet  so  cruel — for  while  they  only  sought  their  natural 
prey,  in  obedience  to  a  natural  instinct,  we  preyed  upon  our  fellow-men, 
in  violation  of  every  natural  sentiment — I  say,  often  at  the  dead  hour 
of  the  night  have  I  and  my  companion  stealthily  approached  some 
house,  previously  selected  for  our  purpose,  and  breaking  in  upon  the 
fancied  security  of  the  inmates,  killed  them  as  they  slept. 

The  old  man,  whose  grey  hairs  glistened  in  the  moonlight,  and  whose 
venerable  presence  might  have  touched  any  hearts  but  ours  ;  the  little 
children,  locked  in  each  other's  arms,  dreaming  of  butterflies  and  flowers 
and  singing  birds  ;  the  young  man  and  the  just  budding  woman,  the 
fond  wife  and  the  doting  husband,  all  fell  beneath  my  murderous  hand, 
or  were  made  the  shrieking  victims  of  my  unholy  passion  first,  and  then 
glaughtered  like  cattle. 

During  this  time  my  gains  were  large,  but  we  squandered  all  our 
money  in  the  various  towns  in  gambling,  drinking,  and  with  prostitutes, 
never  once  feeling  remorse  for  what  we  had  done,  but  ever  ready  for 
some  new  deed  of  horror  the  moment  the  proceeds  of  our  last  crime 
were  spent. 

Cunning  and  shrewd  as  we  were,  however,  suspicion  at  'last  fell  upon 
us,  and  we  were  obliged  to  leave  the  country.  While  we  were  waiting 
on  the  coast  for  an  opportunity,  the  U.  S.  storeship  Southampton 
came  into  port  ;  we  shipped  on  board  of  her  and  went  to  Monterey, 
Santa  Cruz  Bay. 

Having  accomplished  my  object  in  escaping  from  the  scene  of  my 
late  depredations,  and  having  arrived  at  a  place  where  neither  my  past 
life  was  known  nor  my  present  purposes  suspected,  I  resolved  to  leav« 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  49 

the  Southampton  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  ;  and  finding  on  con- 
sultation with  my  partner,  the  boat-steerer,  that  he  was  of  the  same 
mind,  we  began  to  keep  an  eye  to  windward  for  chances. 

One  night,  when  I  thought  circumstances  favored  our  project,  I  let 
my  hat  drop  from  a  gun-port,  as  if  by  accident.  The  marine  on  duty 
was  walking  the  poop  deck,  but  it  being  a  foggy  night,  he  did  not  see 
us  as  I  hauled  the  boat  from  the  swinging-boom  alongside  under  the 
bow,  and  myself  and  partner  got  in  and  pulled  for  the  shore. 

The  noise  of  the  oars  attracted  the  attention  of  the  sentry,  and  he 
and  the  captain  both  fired  at  us,  without  effect,  and  the  store-ship 
Lexington,  which  was  lying  close  by,  fired  a  gun  loaded  with  grape, 
which  struck  the  boat  just  as  we  landed,  knocking  it  all  to  pieces,  but 
doing  us  no  injury.  As  soon  as  we  landed,  we  made  for  the  woods, 
being  obliged  to  pass  a  fort  filled  with  American  soldiers,  who  fired 
upon  us  without  effect,  so  that  we  were  enabled  to  reach  the  shelter 
of  the  wood  unharmed. 

We  remained  in  this  wood  for  a  few  days,  and  then  travelling  on, 
we  reached  the  city  at  night,  where  we  stole  horses  and  made  for  the 
mines. 

We  had  not  ridden  far  before  we  met  two  travellers,  who  were 
returning  from  the  diggings.  As  they  approached  us,  we  stopped  ; 
and  when  they  were  about  passing  us,  we  drew  our  pistols,  and  bade 
them  stand  and  deliver.  They  made  no  resistance,  but  quickly  trans- 
ferred such  dust,  nuggets,  and  other  valuables  as  they  had  about  them 
to  our  keeping,  when  we  bade  them  good  day,  and  allowed  them  to 
proceed  upon  their  journey. 

Arriving  at  the  Salina  plains,  we  stopped  at  a  house  over  night, 
where  we  committed  a  robbery,  and  continued  our  journey  the  next 
day  to  the  gold  mines. 

On  our  arrival  there,  we  went  about  from  claim  to  claim,  and  from 
diggings  to  diggings,  adding  to  our  store  of  dust  by  robbery  and  mur- 
der ;  and  though  we  were  perfectly  reckless  of  consequences,  and  car- 
ried on  our  operations  in  the  boldest  manner,  we  escaped  detection, 
though  we  did  not  avoid  suspicion,  and  were  more  than  once  in  danger 
of  expiating  our  crimes  by  sentence  of  Judge  Lynch. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  during  this  period,  many  of  the  crimes  attri- 
buted to  the  notorious  Joaquin,  and  other  robbers,  were  committed  by 
us  ;  but  the  devil,  whose  work  we  were  so  industriously  doing,  seemed 
to  protect  us,  and  for  more  than  a  year  we  pursued  our  career  of  blood 
and  crime  with  impunity. 

Having  by  this  time  accumulated  sufficient  dust  to  satisfy  our  desire, 


50  THE    TRIAL    AND    CONFESSION    OF 

besides  that  which  we  had  squandered  in  gambling  in  the  various  min- 
ing towns  and  districts,  we  made  our  way  to  San  Francisco. 

We  had  as  much  gold  as  I  could  lift  from  the  ground  with  one  arm, 
which,  upon  our  arrival  in  San  Francisco,  we  exchanged  for  coin,  and 
then  commenced  a  long  period  of  debauchery  and  licentiousness. 

Every  bar-room  was  at  that  time  a  gambling-place.  The  laws  were 
loosely  administered,  and  the  only  code  really  recognized  was  that  of 
might. 

Among  the  lawless,  there  were  none  more  lawless  than  I ;  among  the 
profligate  and  depraved,  none  more  so  than  I  ;  among  the  reckless  and 
desperate,  none  were  more  reckless  or  so  desperate  as  I  and  my  com- 
panion. 

The  bar-room,  the  brothel,  and  the  monte  table,  were  the  only  at- 
tractions for  us,  and  for  six  months  we  led  the  life  of  demons,  leaving 
no  bad  impulse,  no  fiendish  purpose,  no  gross  passion,  nor  any  wicked 
design,  ungratified  or  unaccomplished. 

After  our  money  was  all  gone,  and  we  began  to  be  marked  and  sus- 
pected, we  shipped  on  board  of  the  brig  Josephine — a  Spanish  vessel, 
bound  for  Valparaiso,  and  having  on  board  a  large  amount  of  treasure, 
consisting  of  gold-dust  and  Mexican  doubloons. 

One  night,  while  we  were  coasting  down,  myself  and  partner  having 
completed  our  arrangements,  armed  ourselves,  and  going  into  the  cabin, 
gagged  and  bound  the  captain  and  officers,  and  placed  them  in  a  boat, 
compelling  the  crew  to  follow,  leaving  us  in  possession  of  the  ship. 

We  then  collected  all  the  treasure,  which  we  placed  in  the  boat  we 
had  reserved  for  ourselves,  when  we  scuttled  the  vessel  and  set  fire  to 
her. 

What  became  of  the  officers  and  crew  I  never  heard,  but  the  owners 
of  the  brig  Josephine,  should  they  ever  read  my  narrative,  will  learn, 
for  the  first  time,  the  news  of  her  real  fate. 

After  seeing  the  vessel  burn  to  the  water's  edge,  we  pulled  away,  and 
favored  by  fine  weather,  we  arrived  within  a  short  time  at  Mazatlan, 
having  in  our  possession  nearly  or  quite  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
dust  and  doubloons. 

Here  we  purchased  a  hotel  and  bowling  alley,  and  for  a  year  and  a 
half  carried  on  business,  occasionally  indulging  in  my  old  propensities, 
and  never  missing  a  chance  of  appropriating  to  my  own  use  such  pro- 
perty or  effects  belonging  to  the  travellers  who  stopped  with  us,  as  I 
could  lay  my  hands  on,  occasionally  taking  to  the  road  and  waylaying 
those  whom  it  would  have  been  imprudent  to  have  robbed  while  they 
were  in  the  town. 


ALBERT  W.  HICKS,  THE  PIRATE.  51 

But  though  our  business  flourished,  and  we  might,  had  we  exercised 
ordinary  pruden  ce,  have  grown  rich  and  lived  honestly,  our  propensities 
for  gambling,  carousing,  and  every  sort  of  vile  dissipation,  ran  away 
with  our  ill-gotten  gains,  and  by  the  time  eighteen  months  had  elapsed, 
we  were  forced  to  abandon  our  hotel  and  take  to  our  old  business  of 
robbing  and  murdering,  until  we  were  forced  to  fly  to  escape  punish- 
ment, and  once  more  took  to  the  highway. 

The  scene  of  our  operations  was  the  road  leading  from  the  mines, 
where  we  stopped  the  mules,  murdered  the  conductors,  and  took  such 
silver  as  they  had  in  charge. 

We  came  by  these  means  into  possession  of  large  amounts  of  silver 
in  bars,  which  being  altogether  too  heavy  for  transportation,  we  were 
obliged  to  bury,  and  went  back  to  Valparaiso. 

At  Mazatlan  there  lived  a  Chinaman  by  the  name  of  Bill  Cassa.  He 
kept  a  public  house,  and  being  a  reckless,  unprincipled  sort  of  fellow, 
and  fond  of  money,  although  he  was  already  rich,  we  selected  him  to 
become  the  purchaser  of  our  hidden  wealth.  So,  putting  up  at  his 
hotel,  we  commenced  sounding  him,  and  finding  his  curiosity  and  avarice 
excited  by  our  hints  of  hidden  treasure,  we  at  last  offered  to  guide  him 
to  the  spot  where  it  was  buried,  provided  he  would  pay  us  a  sufficient 
sum  of  money  in  gold  for  the  secret. 

He  agreed  to  this  proposition,  but  the  cunning  fellow  refused  to  take 
any  money  with  him  upon  the  journey,  so  that  we  were  obliged  to 
depend  upon  his  honor  for  keeping  any  bargain  he  might  make  with  us 
after  seeing  the  amount  of  silver  we  had  for  sale.  Had  he  taken  the 
money  with  him,  we  should  have  been  obliged  to  look  for  another 
customer,  for  we  should  have  murdered  him  and  possessed  ourselves  of 
all  he  had.  I  suppose  his  confidence  in  us  was  not  over  large,  and  so 
he  would  not  consent  to  give  us  anything  until  after  we  had  shown  him 
the  spot  where  the  silver  was  buried,  and  should  have  returned  to 
Mazatlan.  We  started  with  him  at  night,  and  by  morning  reached  the 
spot.  After  examining  the  silver,  which  must  have  been  worth  at  least 
a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  he  agreed  to  give  us  $25,000  in 
gold  for  it.  We  consented  to  this,  and  going  back  to  Mazatlan  we 
received  our  money,  and  went  to  Valparaiso,  where  we  opened  a  board- 
ing house,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year  we  had  gambled  and  spent  nearly 
all  our  money,  and  so  took  again  to  our  old  career,  working  on  the 
road  between  Valparaiso  and  the  mines,  where  we  robbed  the  mule 
trains  as  before,  murdering  the  conductors,  and  thus  coming  into  pos- 
session of  a  very  large  amount  of  silver  in  bars.  After  we  had  accu- 
mulated as  much  as  we  thought  would  serve  our  purpose,  we  went  to  a 


52  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

small  village  called  Sueda,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mines,  and  there 
sold  the  buried  metal  to  a  Spanish  merchant,  named  Don  Juan  Alte, 
for  $15,000,  when  we  returned  to  Valparaiso  and  took  passage  on  board 
the  bark  Maria,  of  Baltimore,  Captain  Mattison,  bound  to  Rio  Janeiro. 

Nothing  of  particular  interest  occurred  on  our  voyage  to  Rio,  but 
after  staying  there  six  or  seven  weeks,  and  spending  nearly  all  our 
money  in  gambling  and  debauchery,  we  took  the  road  between  Rio  and 
Montevideo,  where  we  robbed  all  worth  robbing,  and  murdered  all  who 
resisted  us. 

There  is  many  a  whitened  skeleton  bleaching  by  that  roadside  now, 
on  the  same  spot  where  it  fell  by  my  murderous  hand  ;  and  the  traveller, 
as  he  rides  along,  sees  many  a  place  where  the  grass  grows  taller  and 
greener  than  that  which  surrounds  it ;  but  he  little  dreams  that  its 
roots  are  enriched  by  the  blood  shed  by  me.  If  I  should  travel  that 
road  now  I  should  have  plenty  of  ghostly  company,  for,  though  dead  men 
tell  no  tales,  and  are  but  dead  to  all  the  world  beside,  to  me  they  are 
now  living  horrors,  and  will  insist  in  keeping  company  with  me. 

I  remember  one  day  that,  a  few  miles  from  Montevideo,  we  attacked  a 
man  and  three  women,  all  of  them  being  on  horseback.  We  robbed 
them,  and  should  have  killed  them  all,  but  the  women  were  beautiful, 
and  for  once  I  allowed  my  heart  to  yield  to  the  soft  feeling  of  pity,  and 
we  did  not  murder  them. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  look  of  these  poor  frightened  creatures  kneel- 
ing at  my  feet,  praying  me  to  be  merciful,  while  my  partner,  Tom 
Stone — that  was  his  name,  I  do  not  think  I  have  mentioned  it  before — 
stood  a  few  feet  off,  with  his  pistol  at  the  head  of  the  man  who  was 
gradually  divesting  himself  of  everything  valuable  he  had  about 
him. 

One  of  the  women  wore  half-a-dozen  magnificent  diamond  rings,  and 
the  other  carried  two  gold  watches  set  with  diamonds,  besides  other 
trinkets  of  great  value.  These  I  made  them  take  off,  and  give  to  me  ; 
after  which,  I  intended  to  have  ravished  and  then  killed  them  ;  I 
hallooed  to  Tom  to  get  rid  of  the  man,  and  come  and  toss  for  the  choice 
of  the  women — but  the  younger  one  of  the  two,  though  I  spoke  in 
English,  seemed  to  be  aware,  as  if  by  instinct,  of  our  designs  ;  she 
started  suddenly  up,  and  with  a  bound  sprang  to  the  side  of  her 
husband,  and  clung  to  him  in  such  a  way  that  Tom  could  not  kill  him 
without  killing  her  also.  I  seized  the  other  woman,  and  was  about  to 
execute  my  hellish  purpose  upon  her,  when,  with  tears  and  prayers 
she  besought  my  pity,  and  begged  for  mercy,  but  I  was  deaf  to  all 
her  prayers,  and  was  again  about  to  seize  her,  when  she  sprang  from 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  53 

me,  and  like  her  companion,  clung  to  the  man.  I  followed  her,  and 
both  the  women,  as  if  by  one  impulse,  again  fell  on  their  knees,  and 
besought  us  to  spare  them. 

I  do  not  know  how  it  was,  but  my  heart  softened  for  once,  and  I 
stopped  Tom's  hand  just  as  he  was  going  to  pull  the  trigger  on  the  man, 
who  now  stood  alone,  with  his  arms  folded,  awaiting  his  fate.  Tom 
looked  astonished,  but  put  up  his  pistol  with  an  oath,  and  after  some 
demurrer,  agreed  with  me  to  let  them  all  depart  without  further  harm. 
I  even  assisted  them  to  catch  their  horses,  which  they  mounted,  and 
rode  back  with  all  the  speed  they  could  toward  Montevideo.  Ten 
minutes  after  they  had  gone  I  felt  sorry,  and  thought  I  had  acted  like 
a  fool. 

After  this  adventure,  I  felt  in  continual  fear  of  detection,  and  as  we 
had  accumulated  by  our  robberies  a  sum  not  less  than  a  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  in  money,  jewels  and  trinkets,  we  transported  our 
plunder  by  degrees  to  Rio,  where  we  remained  a  few  weeks  enjoying 
ourselves,  and  then  took  passage  for  Buenos  Ayres,  where  we  remained 
a  year,  gambling  and  robbing  as  usual. 

We  had  not  spent  all  our  money,  but  still  had  a  large  sum  left, 
which  we  concealed  in  our  trunks  and  canvas  bags,  and  shipped  on 
board  the  bark  Anada,  of  Boston,  bound  for  New  Orleans.  We  did 
not  go  as  passengers,  as  we  wished  to  conceal  the  fact  of  having  so 
much  money  in  our  possession. 

During  the  passage,  and  in  sight  of  the  West  India  Islands,  a  mutiny 
occurred. 

One  of  the  ship's  boys  having  committed  some  offence,  the  captain 
ordered  him  to  be  whipped,  and  he  was  tied  up  aft.  His  yeljs  and 
screams,  as  the  cat  descended  on  his  back,  made  me  mad,  and  going  aft, 
I  cut  him  down. 

The  captain  interfered,  when  I  knocked  him  down  with  a  handspike, 
and  my  partner  Tom  backing  me,  we  went  into  a  general  fight,  which 
resulted  in  leaving  Tom  and  I  in  possession  of  the  ship.  We  tied  all 
hand  and  foot,  except  the  boy  I  had  protected  and  one  man,  and  then 
taking  the  boat,  we  lowered  our  chests  into  it,  following  them  ourselves, 
and  made  for  the  shore. 

We  landed  upon  the  Island  of  Barbadoes,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days  went  on  board  of  an  English  brig,  the  Conova,  bound  for  New  Or- 
leans. Everything  went  on  well  until  we  arrived  within  fifteen  miles 
of  the  bar,  when  the  officers,  discovering  that  Tom  Stone  and  I  were 
armed,  found  fault  with  us,  which  led  to  a  disturbance,  whereupon  we 
left  the  ship  in  a  boat,  fearing  that  we  should  be  arrested  on  our  arrival 

4 


54  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

if  we  remained  on  the  ship.  We  landed  at  the  Belize,  and  in  a  few 
days  arrived  at  New  Orleans,  where  we  remained  for  a  few  months, 
gambling  and  carousing. 

From  here  we  shipped  for  Liverpool  on  the  ship  Columbus,  Oapt. 
McSerin.  We  lost  a  man  overboard  during  the  passage,  and  the  ship 
went  ashore  off  Waterford  in  a  gale  of  wind. 

The  Columbus  went  to  pieces  shortly  after  she  struck,  and  I  believe 
that  nearly  all  hands  were  lost  ;  but  I  made  my  way  to  shore  on  a 
fragment  of  the  wreck,  and  was  delighted  to  find,  on  reaching  a  place 
of  safety,  that  my  partner,  who  had  braved  so  many  dangers,  and 
escaped  so  many  other  perils  with  me,  had  also  escaped  a  watery 
grave. 

We  went  into  Waterford  penniless,  but  we  committed  a  robbery,  the 
proceeds  of  which  enabled  us  to  reach  Liverpool,  from  whence  we 
shipped  in  the  ship  Charles  Mallary,  of  My  stick,  for  Rio  Janeiro. 

On  the  passage,  believing  that  there  was  a  considerable  amount  of 
money  on  board,  I  used  all  my  endeavors  to  stir  the  crew  up  to  mutiny 
intending,  if  possible,  to  kill  the  officers  and  make  myself  master  of  the 
lion's  share  of  the  plunder,  but  I  could  not  succeed  in  bringing  matters 
t©  a  crisis,  although  the  whole  voyage  was  a  series  of  rows  and  fights, 
in  which  I  was  generally  the  principal. 

When  we  arrived  at  Rio  all  hands  left  the  ship  but  myself  and  Tom 
Stone,  who  were  forced  to  remain,  as  we  were  both  sick,  and  as  soon  as 
we  began  to  recover  they  put  us  both  in  irons. 

But  one  day,  the  mate  going  on  shore,  we  broke  our  irons  and  left. 
Reaching  the  city,  we  remained  quiet  until  the  vessel  sailed,  and  then 
shipped  on  board  of  the  ship  Admiral  Granford,  of  Liverpool,  for  New 
Orleans. 

All  went  on  smoothly  enough  to  all  appearances,  but  during  the 
whole  voyage  I  was  working  quietly  among  the  men,  sowing  the  seeds 
of  discontent  and  mutiny,  which  came  to  a  head  when  we  were  within 
about  twenty-five  miles  of  the  Belize. 

Here  a  regularly  organized  revolt  took  place,  headed  by  me  and 
Stone,  in  which  about  one  half  of  the  crew  were  actually  engaged.  We 
succeeded  in  overpowering  the  officers  and  such  of  the  crew  as  sided 
with  them,  and  after  binding  them  we  robbed  the  ship  of  all  the  money 
and  portable  valuables  we  could  lay  our  hands  on,  and  after  scuttling 
the  ship  and  setting  fire  to  her  we  took  to  the  boats  and  made  for 
land. 

On  reaching  the  shore  we  divided  the  spoils  of  the  robbery,  and 
separated,  myself  and  partner  going  to  New  Orleans  together,  where  at 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  5£ 

the  end  of  a  few  weeks  we  again  shipped  on  board  of  the  ship  Mobile, 
of  Bath,  for  Liverpool. 

While  we  were  taking  in  cargo  at  New  Orleans,  we  robbed  the  ship 
of  a  quantity  of  Irish  linen  ;  but  on  trying  to  smuggle  it  ashore  we 
were  arrested,  but  escaped  punishment  by  means  of  perjured  witnesses. 
After  our  discharge  we  rejoined  the  ship  and  went  to  sea. 

But  off  Blackwater  Banks  a  terrible  storm  struck  us.  We  had  over 
eight  hundred  souls  on  board,  and  the  scene  was  enough  to  appall  the 
stoutest  heart  and  make  the  bravest  man  shudder.  The  waves  ran 
mountains  high,  and  the  wind  blew  great  gups  ;  sail  after  sail  was  car- 
ried away,  and  as  we  were  fast  driving  in  to  the  Banks,  all  hope  of 
saving  the  ship  was  given  up.  The  poor  wretches  gave  themselves  up 
for  lost ;  some  prayed — some  cursed — some  shrieked  in  an  agony  of 
fear,  and  some  madly  cast  themselves  into  the  water  and  died  before 
their  time. 

But  during  this  dreadful  panic  I  felt  no  fear,  for  on  this  occasion,  as 
all  through  my  life,  I  felt  as  if  I  was  protected  by  a  superior  power,  and 
only  thought  how  I  could  turn  the  loss  of  the  ship  to  account. 

When  the  ship  struck,  I  watched  my  opportunity  and  lashed  myself 
to  a  large  spar,  on  which  I  floated  for  two  days,  when  I  was  picked  up 
by  a  pilot-boat  and  taken  into  port,  as  the  American  Consul  at  that 
time  will  certify.  Of  the  eight  hundred  passengers  on  board  of  that 
ship  not  one  save  me  escaped  that  I  ever  heard  of.  The  only  one 
whose  loss  I  regretted  was  my  partner,  Tom  Stone,  with  whom  I  had 
been  associated  for  so  many  years.  He  was  a  brave  fellow,  with  a  ready 
wit  and  strong  arm,  ever  on  hand  for  any  enterprise,  no  matter  how 
desperate  ;  and  wicked  as  he  was,  I  believe  he  loved  and  would  have 
died  for  me. 

Well,  he  has  gone  to  his  account,  whither  I  must  shortly  follow  him, 
and  tread  the  same  dark  path  he  trod  before  me. 

On  finding  myself  safe  on  shore  once  more,  I  shipped  on  the  bark 
Jeanette,  of  London,  for  New  York,  from  whence  I  went  in  the 
schooner  Eliza,  for  Boston. 

On  board  of  this  schooner  I  met  a  man  by  the  name  of  Lockwood, 
whom  I  found  to  be  in  every  respect  worthy  of  filling  the  place  made 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Tom  Stone.  He  was  a  strong,  wiry  man,  full 
of  determination,  cruel  and  desperate  in  his  disposition,  and  totally 
without  fear.  I  found  he  had  led  a  life  nearly  similar  to  mine,  and  he 
thought  no  more  of  stealing  a  purse,  or  cutting  a  throat,  than  I  j  and, 
in  addition  to  his  other  qualifications,  was  an  expert  navigator.  So 
the  second  day  out,  we  laid  our  plans  to  rob  the  schooner  and  scuttle 


56  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

her,  which  we  did  that  night  when  off  Block  Island,  making  our  escape 
in  a  boat,  and  leaving  all  hands  to  perish. 

We  landed  on  Block  Island,  and  went  on  board  of  a  sloop  bound  to 
Newport,  where  we  shipped  on  board  a  schooner,  Mescedious,*  of 
Providence,  for  the  West  Indies.  Nothing  particular  occurred  on  the 
passage,  and  when  we  arrived  at  St.  Domingo,  we  left  the  schooner  and 
went  in  a  brig  to  New  Orleans,  whence  we  shipped  on  the  schooner 
Camphene,  for  the  Straits  of  Magellan. 

When  we  were  at  anchor  in  the  Straits  one  night,  Lockwood  and 
myself  having  previously  arranged  all  our  plans,  robbed  the  schooner 
of  alt  the  money  and  valuables  on  board,  and  after  scuttling  her  by 
boring  holes  in  her  bottom,  we  set  fire  to  her,  while  all  hands  were 
asleep  aft,  and  got  away  in  a  boat,  leaving  all  on  board  to  perish.  We 
landed  safely,  and  travelled  across  the  coast  to  the  nearest  town,  living  on 
four  days'  provisions,  which  we  took  with  us  from  the  schooner.  We 
reached  the  place  in  about  ten  days,  very  much  exhausted  by  lack  of 
food  and  water. 

As  we  had  plenty  of  money,  we  made  up  for  our  late  deprivations  by 
plunging  into  all  sorts  of  dissipation  and  pleasures  ;  never,  however, 
losing  a  chance  to  rob  anybody  whose  appearance  promised  to  pay  us 
for  the  trouble.  In  this  way  we  spent  some  months,  and  then  went  to 
Joaquin  on  horseback,  armed  for  the  road,  where  we  stopped  for 
a  few  weeks,  leading  our  old  life,  and  then  went  to  Santiago,  rob- 
bing and  murdering  as  before.  We  did  not  confine  our  operations  to 
highway  robberies  alone,  but  committed  every  variety  of  depredations, 
breaking  into  houses,  and  murdering  and  robbing  the  inmates  while 
they  slept. 

We  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of  Santiago  about  one  year,  and, 
should  I  undertake  to  relate  circumstantially  all  the  murders  we  com- 
mitted during  this  time  on  the  road  between  there  and  Valparaiso,  it 
would  occupy  nearly  all  the  time  I  have  to  live.  It  would  take  some 
time  to  give  even  a  list  of  those  I  can  remember,  and  they  were  of  so 
frequent  occurrence,  I  have  no  doubt  many  of  them  have  escaped  my 
memory  altogether.     I   do  not  think   I  could  name  them  all  in  one 

day.f 

After  this,  our  longer  stay  in  this  neighborhood  would  be  running  too 
great  a  risk,  as  our  numerous  outrages  had  attracted  the  attention  of 

*  The  name  is  spelled  as  Hicks  pronounced  it,  but  it  is  evidently  not  the  correot 
name.  ^ 

f  This  was  in  answer  to  a  direct  question. — Ed 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  57 

the  government,  and  the  whole  country  was  aroused  against  us  ;  so  we 
shipped  on  board  the  brig  Anne  Mills,  bound  to  the  coast  of  Africa. 

This  brig  was  lying  at  Valparaiso,  and  was  chartered  by  a  man  under 
the  pretence  of  making  a  trading  voyage,  but  his  real  object  was 
piracy,  and  we  shipped  with  a  crew  of  men  desperate  as  ourselves,  who, 
if  they  did  not  know  the  object  of  the  voyage,  the  captain  rightly 
thought,  would  have  no  scrupulous  objections  to  it. 

As  soon  as  we  were  upon  blue  water,  the  captain  opened  our  plan  of 
operations  to  the  crew,  and  although  one  or  two  murmured  at  first,  all 
at  length  came  into  our  scheme..  In  fact,  they  were  obliged  to  do  so, 
for  had  any  of  them  held  out,  we  should  have  disposed  of  them  in  a 
very  summary  way. 

I  was  now  in  my  proper  element,  where  I  could  gratify  the  highest 
object  of  my  wicked  ambition.  I  was  a  free  rover,  with  no  one  to 
fear,  and  no  one  to  obey,  with  the  whole  world  for  my  prey. 

During  the  year  that  I  sailed  in  this  vessel,  we  overhauled,  plundered, 
and  burned  several  Portuguese  and  Spanish  ships,  in  most  cases  mur- 
dering their  crews.  After  cruising  about  the  West  India  Islands,  we 
made  our  course  for  the  Gulf  of  Gibraltar,  went  to  Marseilles,  boarded 
a  Greek  vessel,  and  obtained  provisions  and  stores.  Finding  that  she 
tad  no  money  on  board,  we  let  her  go,  and  the  next  morning  sailed  for 
the  Dardanelles,  where  we  cast  anchor  and  went  ashore  at  a  small 
town,  and  although  none  of  us  could  speak  the  language,  we  remained 
there  about  six  weeks,  and  then  went  to  Constantinople,  and  on  the 
voyage  lay  one  night  alongside  of  an  English  brig. 

We  boarded  her  about  12  o'clock,  and  after  searching  her  and  find- 
ing nothing,  we  went  on  our  voyage. 

After  remaining  a  short  time  at  Constantinople,  we  headed  for  the 
Gut  of  Gibraltar,  and  one  night  were  hailed  by  a  British  man-of-war, 
whose  name  we  did  not  learn.  We  answered  in  Portuguese,  when  she 
ordered  us  to  lay  to. 

Instead  of  doing  this  we  crowded  all  sail,  and  during  the  conversa- 
tion we  had  got  our  guns  ready  ;  we  gave  her  a  raking  fire  from  our 
stern,  which  carried  away  the  foremast.  As  we  saw  it  falling  over  the 
side,  we  bade  them  "  good  bye  "  in  English,  and  gave  them  three  cheers, 
for  which  they  returned  a  broadside,  and  we  received  two  shots  in  our 
stern. 

I  dare  say  the  British  Admiralty  never  knew  to  this  day  to  what 
vessel  their  man-of-war  was  indebted  for  the  loss  of  her  foremast,  but  if 
they  ever  read  this  the  mystery  will  be  cleared  up.  It  is  more  than 
likely  they  have  suspected  their  old  enemy,  the  French,  of  playing  this 


58  THE   TRIAL  AND    CONFESSION    OF 

trick,  but  they  hare  been  wrong  ;  the  shot  came  from  the  brig  Anne 
Mills. 

We  never  shortened  sail  until  we  reached  a  Spanish  port,  about  150 
miles  from  the  Gut,  where  we  laid  for  a  short  time  to  repair  damages, 
and  made  sail  for  the  coast  of  Mexico,  and  stopped  at  a  port  near 
Vera  Cruz,  where  we  laid  in  wood  and  water,  and  sailed  for  Vera  Cruz. 
From  here  we  went  to  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  anchored  in  the  mouth 
of  the  river  opposite  Jacksonville.  Here  we  lay  two  or  three  weeks 
recruiting  ;  at  the  end  of  this  time,  having  completed  the  necessary 
preparations,  we  sailed  direjet  for  the  coast  of  Africa,  where  we  took 
on  board  a  load  of  negroes  and  sheered  our  course  for  Rio. 

A  few  miles  to  windward  of  Cape  Frio  an  English  cruiser  hove  in 
sight.  We  made  off  for  the  land  at  once,  but  finding  the  cruiser  was 
gaining  upon  us,  the  captain  made  the  negroes  fast  to  the  chain  cable 
and  let  the  anchor  go,  with  the  cable  over  the  rail,  dragging  the  negroes 
overboard. 

We  were  pursued  to  the  shore,  and  most  of  those  on  board  were 
captured.  Lockwood  and  myself,  with  our  usual  good  luck,  managing 
to  escape. 

We  walked  to  Rio  destitute  of  everything  but  arms,  rifles  and  pistols, 
and  on  reaching  that  place  shipped  on  board  the  bark  Josephine  of 
Boston,  bound  to  Liverpool.  We  had  a  quick  passage,  not  marked  by 
anything  of  peculiar  interest,  and  on  our  arrival  there  we  shipped  on 
the  bark  Alga  for  New  Orleans. 

During  the  voyage  a  disturbance  broke  out,  and  some  one,  who  I  do 
not  know,  set  fire  to  the  vessel.  We  took  to  the  boats,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days  we  were  picked  up  by  the  brig  Exact,  of  Liver- 
pool, and  taken  to  St.  Domingo,  where  we  shipped  on  board  brig  Fanny 
Fosdick,  for  St.  Mark's,  Florida. 

We  ran  on  the  Florida  reefs  in  a  fog,  and  all  hands  were  lost,  ex- 
cept myself,  Lockwood,  the  captain  and  mate.  We  were  taken  off  by 
a  small  schooner  and  carried  into  St.  Marks,  where  Lockwood  and  my- 
self remained  for  four  months,  committing  all  sorts  of  depredations, 
among  which  robberies  and  murders  were  of  frequent  occurrence. 

Wishing  for  a  new  field  of  action,  however,  we  engaged  as  hands  on 
board  the  pilot  boat  Lucina,  not  with  a  view  of  working  long,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  possession  of  her  the  first  opportunity  which 
should  occur. 

She  was  a  beautiful  little  craft,  sat  on  the  water  like  a  sea  bird,  and, 
for  speed,  was  unsurpassed.  In  fact,  she  was  just  the  thing  we  wanted. 
We  had  fixed  our  eyes  on  her  long  before,  but  had  to  wait  for  circum- 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  59 

stances  favorable  to  our  plan  to  turn  up  before  we  dared  to  apply  for 
situations  on  board  of  her. 

We  had  not  sailed  in  her  long,  however,  before  the  long-wished-for 
opportunity  arrived  ;  and  one  day,  when  the  pilots  were  all  ashore,  we 
got  her  under  weigh  for  the  Double  H.  Shot  Keys,  where  we  boarded 
a  brig,  and  procured  some  provisions  and  stores.  We  were  not  heavily 
enough  armed,  nor  in  the  proper  shape  to  rob  her,  or  we  would  have 
done  so. 

After  this,  we  started  on  a  cruise,  seeking  victims  in  all  the  small 
craft  which  came  in  our  way,  but  not  meeting  with  any  great  success, 
we  made  our  course  for  New  Orleans,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  arms 
and  provisions,  and  if  we  could  meet  any  men  of  the  right  stamp  for  an 
enterprise  like  ours,  to  press  them  into  our  service. 

Arriving  at  the  Balize,  we  lay  to  till  midnight,  and  then  taking  the 
yawl  went  on  board  a  bark  and  robbed  her  of  a  considerable  sum  of 
money,  two  chronometers,  and  other  valuables. 

After  this,  we  put  back  to  sea  again,  and  committed  many  depreda- 
tions upon  fishing  smacks  and  other  small  craft.  We  continued  this 
life  for  some  time,  but  beginning  to  long  for  the  pleasures  of  shore,  we 
ran  our  little  craft  into  Matagorda  Bay,  where  we  placed  all  our 
money  and  valuables  in  a  yawl  and  went  on  shore  below  Matagorda. 
We  burned  the  yawl  upon  the  beach,  and  secreting  a  portion  of  our 
effects  in  the  sand,  went  inland,  where  we  lived  on  in  our  usual  aban- 
doned and  reckless  life.  After  some  time  we  again  made  our  way  to  the 
coast,  and  digging  up  and  carrying  away  our  treasure,  we  went 
to  Matagorda,  where  we  stayed  a  few  weeks,  committing  several 
robberies  ;  and  then,  after  purchasing  an  outfit,  shipped  on  board  of  a 
schooner,  whose  name  I  cannot  call  to  mind,  bound  for  Boston.  On 
our  arrival  we  left  her,  and  going  ashore  we  remained  there  a  short 
time,  watching  an  opportunity  of  shipping  on  board  of  some  small  craft 
not  heavily  manned,  which  we  could  rob  and  take  possession  of  when 
out  at  sea. 

Nothing  presented  itself,  however, which  we  considered  worth  our  while, 
but  we  were  not  by  any  means  idle,  for  we  committed  several  robberies  on 
shore,  one  of  which,  a  burglary  in  Washington  street,  we  came  very  near 
being  detected  in,  and  the  circumstances  connected  with  which  caused 
considerable  stir.     In  fact,  we  found  it  necessary  to  leave,  which  we  did. 

The  Boston  officers  started  in  pursuit  of  us,  but  we  managed  to  throw 
them  off  the  scent,  and  as  soon  as  we  were  convinced  that  they  were 
on  the  wrong  track,  we  made  for  New  York,  which  we  reached  in 
safety.     Those  circumstances  took  place  a*bout  four  years  ago. 


60  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

I  remained  in  New  York  a  short  time,  enjoying  myself,  and  then 
shipped  on  board  of  a  schooner,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten.  She 
was  bound  to  the  West  Indies  for  fruit,  and  I  supposed  that  she  had 
considerable  money  on  board.  My  only  object  in  going  on  her  was  to 
rob  her  if  I  could.  My  old  partner  was  with  me,  and  we  tried  by 
every  means  to  find  out  how  much  money  was  on  board,  where  it  was 
kept,  etc.,  but  did  not  succeed,  and  no  opportunity  occurred  for  us  to 
carry  out  our  plans  during  the  voyage.  So  we  came  back  on  her  t© 
New  York,  and  both  shipped  on  board  the  schooner  Sea  Witch,  a  Nor- 
folk oyster  boat.  As  before,  our  object  was  murder  and  robbery.  I 
suspected  that  she  carried  out  a  large  sum  of  money  each  trip,  but  did 
not  know  how  much,  until  I  kept  count  of  the  number  of  oysters 
bought,  and  the  price  paid  for  them,  which  made  me  determine  to  kill 
all  hands  on  the  next  trip,  and  secure  the  money  as  soon  as  we  got  out 
to  sea. 

But  from  some  cause  or  other  we  were  mistrusted,  and  we  were  dis- 
charged on  our  arrival  at  New  York. 

I  waited  some  time  for  a  similar  chance,  but  failing  in  getting  shipped 
on  board  of  anything  which  promised  to  pay  me,  I  joined  the  bark 
Sea  Horse,  bound  for  the  coast  of  Africa,  for  a  cargo  of  slaves. 

During  the  passage  I  succeeded  in  stirring  the  crew  up  to  mutiny, 
and  after  a  severe  fight  we  succeeded  in  overcoming  and  killing  the 
officers,  and  took  possession  of  the  ship. 

We  ran  the  vessel  ashore  at  Congo  Eiver,  took  the  money,  and 
joined  an  English  vessel,  after  dividing  our  spoils  to  suit  myself  and 
partner,  we  keeping,  of  course,  the  largest  'share  of  it. 

I  almost  forget  the  name  of  the  English  ship  in  which  we  sailed  for 
London,  but  think  it  was  the  Zacharias.  However,  we  played  the 
same  game  on  board  her,  that  is,  we  excited  a  mutiny.  The  captain, 
mate,  and  steward  being  in  the  cabin  asleep,  we  entered  quietly,  and 
took  everything  valuable  we  could  lay  our  hands  on,  and  then,  going 
on  deck,  fastened  down  the  hatches  in  such  a  way  that  the  officers 
could  not  make  their  escape,  after  which  we  tied  the  other  two  of  the 
crew,  and  landed  in  the  boat  at  Havre  during  the  night,  from  where  we 
took  the  packet  to  London. 

Here  my  partner  and  I  separated,  and  I  have  not  heard  what  became 
of  him.  I  hope,  if  he  sees  this  confession  and  learns  my  fate,  it  will 
serve  as  a  warning  to  him,  and  that  he  will  give  up  shedding  blood 
and  robbery,  and  lead  an  honest  life. 

,  About  this  time — that  is,  some  three  years  ago — I  married,  and 
shortly  after,  came  with  my  wife  to  New  York,  on  board  the  ship 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  61 

Isaac  Wright,  Captain  Marshall,  who  knows  me  well.  On  reaching 
New  York,  I  took  some  rooms,  and  lived  with  my  wife  in  Batavia 
street.  I  do  not  remember  the  number,  but  it  was  a  corner  house,  and 
stood  opposite  to  No.  17. 

During  this  time  I  worked  along  shore,  all  the  while  looking  out  for 
chances,  and  trying  to  get  a  berth  on  some  vessel  which  I  might  rob 
with  profit;  but  not  meeting  with  the  opportunity  I  wanted,  I  left  the 
city  with  my  wife,  and  going  into  the  country,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Norwich,  Conn.,  went  to  work  for  a  Doctor  Baldwin.  I  remained  with 
him  some  time,  and  then  went  to  Norwich,  where  I  worked  for  a 
Daniel  Mapler,  till  a  longing  for  my  old  life  of  excitement  and  adven- 
ture came  over  me,  and  I  returned  to  New  York  and  took  lodgings  at 
129  Cedar  street. 

In  a  short  time  I  shipped  on  board  of  the  steamer  Alabama,  for  Sa- 
vannah, returned  and  shipped  on  board  schooner  Kate  Field,  for  Indi- 
anola  and  Galveston.  I  committed  a  robbery  on  board  of  this  vessel, 
and  though  I  was  detected  by  the  captain,  nothing  was  said  about  it. 

The  goods  I  appropriated  were  part  of  the  cargo,  but  they  were  not 
missed  by  the  owners,  and  so  I  escaped.  From  Galveston  we  sailed  to 
Matagorda  Bay,  took  in  a  cargo  of  sugar,  and  returned  to  New  York, 
and  for  some  time  after  this  I  remained  on  shore,  working  occasionally, 
and  all  the  while  watching  my  opportunity  to  get  a  berth  on  board  of  a 
vessel  for  the  old  purpose. 

With  the  object  of  committing  a  robbery  if  a  favorable  opportunity 
presented  itself,  I  went  a  voyage  in  a  schooner  to  Georgetown,  S.  C, 
but  returned  without  finding  it  worth  while  to  carry  out  my  intentions^ 
For  a  time  I  worked  along  shore  again,  and  then  went  to  Boston  on  a 
coaster,  intending  to  rob  her  if  I  found  she  had  money  on  board,  but 
as  she  had  not,  I  came  back  in  her  to  New  York,  and  shipped  on 
schooner  John,  for  Wilmington,  N.  C. 

As  we  came  out  of  Wilmington  harbor,  on  our  retnrn,  we  found  the 
yacht  Kate,  which  had  been  run  into. 

I  saw  the  wreck  first,  and  as  soon  as  we  got  alongside,  I  jumped  into 
her,  in  water  up  to  my  armpits,  and  making  her  fast  to  the  schooner, 
commenced  bailing  her  out. 

We  finally  got  her  afloat,  and  took  her  into  Wilmington,  from 
whence  she  was  returned  to  her  owners.  We  claimed  salvage  on  her, 
which  was  allowed,  but  there  is  something  due  me  now  on  my  share, 
which  I  hope  will  be  paid  to  my  wife  after  I  am  gone. 

Keturning  to  New  York,  I  lived  by  working  along  shore,  but  nevsr 
missed  a  chance  of  robbery  when  it  promised  to  pay  me  for  my  trouble, 


62  THE   TRIAL  AND    CONFESSION    OF 

and  the  risk  was  not  too  great ;  but  I  was  careful  of  doing  much  in 
New  York  city,  and  was  all  the  while  on  the  lookout  for  some  enter- 
prise in  my  favorite  field  of  action — the  sea. 

I  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  all  small  craft  outward  bound  for  cargoes 
of  fruit,  oysters,  etc.,  and  in  a  quiet  way  gathered  all  the  information  I 
could  in  regard  to  the  number  of  hands  they  shipped,  and  the  amount 
of  money  they  generally  carried. 

During  my  searches  I  came  across  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson,  Captain 
Burr,  and  in  making  application  was  engaged  on  board  of  her. 

I  come  now  to  the  closing  acts  of  my  life,  to  the  last  scenes  in  my 
wicked  and  bloody  career. 

From  my  youth  up  I  lived  by  crime.  I  have  steeled  my  heart 
against  every  good  impulse.  I  have  considered  mankind  my  natural 
prey  and  have  never  hesitated  to  gratify  my  appetites,  passions,  and 
desires,  no  matter  how  dear  the  sacrifice  paid  by  others  for  their  grati- 
fication, and  now  society  which  I  have  so  long  outraged  claims  the  only 
recompense  I  can  make  for  all  the  wrongs  I  have  committed  ;  the  law, 
which  to  me  has  ever  been  a  subject  of  scorn  and  derision,  now  exerts 
its  majesty,  and  calls  on  me  to  pay  the  penalty  due  for  breaking  it  ; 
mankind,  against  whom  I  have  so  long  waged  a  bloody  and  resistless 
war,  now  clamors  for  my  blood,  in  compensation  for  the  innocent  blood 
I  have  so  often  shed.  Justice  at  last  asserts  her  sway,  and  a  dreadful 
punishment  awaits  me. 

But  let  me  go  on  to  the  end. 

The  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson  offered  an  easy  prey.  She  had  on  board, 
I  supposed,  from  all  the  information  I  could  gather,  something  over  a 
thousand  dollars,  and  the  entire  crew  consisted  of  but  two  boys  and 
myself. 

I  had  never  known  of  or  seen  Captain  Burr  before  I  shipped  with 
him.  He  had  never  done  me  injury  or  wrong,  so  that  I  had  no  revenge 
to  gratify,  no  grudge  to  pay. 

He  seemed  a  kind  and  amiable  man,  and  would,  I  have  no  doubt, 
awakened  kindly  feelings  in  any  heart  but  mine,  and  e?en  I  liked  him. 
Yet  I  engaged  myself  to  him  solely,  and  only  for  the  cruel  purpose  of 
taking  his  life,  the  lives  of  the  two  young  men,  and  making  myself 
master  of  the  money  I  supposed  he  had  on  board. 

I  calculated  to  do  this  as  calmly  as  you  would  contemplate  doing 
any  of  the  usual  duties  in  the  ordinary  transactions  of  life. 

I  had  killed  men,  yes,  and  boys,  too,  many  a  time  before,  for  far  less 
inducement  than  the  sum  I  supposed  I  should  gain  by  killing  them  ; 
and  I  had  too  often  dyed  my  murderous  hands  in  blood  in  days  gone 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  63 

by,  to  feel  the  slightest  compunctions  or  qualms  of  conscience 
then. 

I  never  thought  of  the  consequences  of  such  a  crime.  The  fear  of 
detection  never  once  crossed  my  mind.  I  had  too  often  done  the  same 
thing  with  impunity  to,  believe  that  a  day  of  reckoning  would  ever  come, 
in  this  world  at  least,  and  I  never  gave  a  thought  to  the  world  to  come. 

After  engaging  with  Captain  Burr,  I  went  home  to  my  wife  at  129 
Cedar  street,  and  lying  down  on  the  bed,  told  her  not  to  disturb  me, 
as  I  wanted  to  take  a  long  sleep,  and  if  any  one  came  for  me,  to  say 
that  I  was  not  in.  She  left  me  alone,  and  I  then  deliberately  matured 
all  my  plans.  I  marked  out  the  course  I  intended  to  pursue  exactly, 
and  after  I  had  decided  upon  everything,  I  went  to  sleep  and  slept  as 
soundly  as  ever  I  slept  in  my  life,  my  mind  was  so  much  at  ease,  and  I 
felt  so  contented  at  the  idea  of  having  at  last  an  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing some  money  in  an  easy  way. 

The  next  day  I  went  on  board  and  commenced  my  duties,  and  in 
order  to  ingratiate  myself  into  the  good  graces  of  the  captain,  I  did 
even  more  than  could  have  been  expected  of  me. 

We  sailed  on  the  sixteenth  of  March  from  the  foot  of  Spring  street, 
and  proceeded  to  Keyport,  where  we  remained  till  Sunday.  While 
here,  I  scraped  the  mast  of  the  sloop,  did  a  lot  of  carpenter  work,  and 
evidently  pleased  Captain  Burr  very  much  by  my  earnestness  in  trying 
to  make  everything  look  ship-shape. 

We  arrived  at  Gravesend  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  waited  there 
for  a  fair  wind. 

At  last  we  put  to  sea,  and  when  we  were  off  the  Ocean  House,  I 
went  to  the  forecastle,  and  got  an  axe,  which  I  put  in  the  boat  hanging 
to  the  davit  aft. 

The  younger  Watts  was  at  the  helm,  and  I  asked  him  to  allow  me 
to  steer  a  little  while.     He  consented,  and  went  forward. 

In  a  few  minutes  I  left  the  helm,  and  taking  the  axe,  went  to  him, 
and  asked  him  if  he  saw  Barnegat  Light.  He  said  he  did  not.  I  told 
him  to  look  again,  and  pointed  with  my  hand. 

He  turned  round  and  looked  in  my  face  a  moment,  but  even  if  he 
had  suspected  my  cruel  purpose,  he  would  have  read  no  indication  of  it 
there,  for  I  was  as  calm  as  though  I  were  going  to  do  the  simplest  and 
most  innocent  thing  in  life. 

Had  I  been  under  human  influences,  the  confident  and  trusty  way  in 
which  he  turned  his  eyes  to  mine,  would  have  made  me  hesitate,  but 
no  such  thought  entered  my  heart,  and  I  pointed  again  and  told  him  to 
"  Look  there  ;  ain't  that  it  1" 


64  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

He  turned  his  head,  and  peered  through  the  darkness  in  the  direc- 
tion I  pointed,  and  as  he  did  so,  I  struck  him  on  the  back  of  the  head 
with  the  axe,  and  knocked  him  down. 

He  fell! 

Thinking  I  had  not  killed  him,  I  struck  him  again  with  the  axe  as 
he  lay  upon  the  deck. 

His  fall  and  the  sound  of  the  axe  made  some  noise,  which,  added  to 
that  caused  by  my  running  across  the  deck,  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  captain,  who  came  up  the  companionway,  and  putting  out  his 
head,  asked  what  was  the  matter  ? 

I  replied,  "nothing,"  and  then  asked  him,  as  I  had  the  younger 
Watts,  "  Is  that  Barnegat  light." 

Captain  Burr  replied,  "  No,  you  will  not  see  it  for  two  hours  ;"  and 
as  he  spoke  he  turned  his  head  from  me. 

The  axe  swung  in  the  air,  and,  guided  by  my  sinewy  and  murderous 
arm,  came  down. 

The  edge  crunched  through  his  neck,  nearly  severing  his  head  from 
his  body,  and  killing  him  instantly. 

The  body  fell  down  the  companionway. 

As  I  turned  to  leap  after  it,  and  dispatch  my  remaining  victim,  I 
looked  forward,  and — Oh,  God,  how  I  shudder  to  think  of  it  now  ! — he 
whom  I  thought  I  had  already  killed  had  risen  and  was  coming  aft,  his 
hand  outstretched  toward  me,  and  the  blood  running  in  two  dark 
streams  over  his  pale  face,  from  two  ghastly  wounds  on  his  head. 

For  a  moment  I  stood  undecided,  but  as  he  still  came  on,  I  ran  to- 
ward him,  but  ere  I  reached  him  he  fell  about  midships,  and  rushing 
on  him,  I  struck  once  !  twice  !   thrice  I  with  the  axe,  and  finished  him. 

Running  aft,  I  jumped  down  the  companionway  with  the  bloody  axe 
in  my  hand. 

There  lay  the  elder  Watts  in  his  berth,  and  close  beside  him  the 
ghastly,  bloody  corpse  of  the  captain. 

I  stood  a  moment  looking  at  him,  and  dashed  at  him  and  struck  out 
with  the  axe. 

He  leaped  out  of  his  berth,  and  sprang  at  me,  all  red  with  the  blood 
of  the  captain,  whose  body  had  fallen  past  him,  covering  him  with  gore 
in  its  fall. 

He  tried  to  grapple  with  me,  but  stepping  back,  I  gave  the  fatal 
axe  a  full  swing,  and  struck  him  again,  again,  and  again,  once  upon 
the  head,  once  on  the  back,  and  once  more  upon  the  head,  which  felled 
him  to  the  floor,  and  he  lay  dead  at  my  feet,  side  by  side  with  the  cap- 
tain. 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,   THE     PIRATE.  65 

My  bloody  work  was  done  ! 

Dead  men  tell  no  tales. 

I  was  alone.  No  eye  had  seen  me,  and  now  I  was  free  to  reap  the 
reward  of  my  work. 

I  did  not  feel  the  slightest  regret  for  what  I  had  done,  and  went 
about  removing  the  bodies,  as  coolly  as  though  they  had  been  so  much 
old  lumber. 

I  took  a  rope  and  bent  it  on  to  the  feet  of  the  elder  Watts,  hauled 
him  on  deck,  and  threw  him  over  the  quarter.  I  then  hauled  the 
captain  out  in  the  same  manner,  and  threw  him  over  ;  and  then  going 
to  mid-ships,  I  lifted  the  body  of  the  younger  Watts  from  the  deck, 
and  plunged  him  into  the  sea  by  the  starboard  side. 

I  then  threw  the  axe  overboard,  and  soon  as  I  had  done  this,  I 
changed  the  course  of  the  sloop,  and  ran  in  close  to  the  Hook. 

My  intention  was  to  run  the  sloop  up  the  North  River,  and  then 
fire  her,  but  I  came  near  running  her  on  the  Dog  Beacon,  abreast  of 
Coney  Island  and  Staten  Island  lighthouse,  after  which  I  fouled  with  a 
schooner,  and  carried  away  the  bowsprit,  so  I  put  the  money  and  such 
other  articles  of  value  as  I  could  pick  up,  into  the  yawl,  and  then 
sculled  ashore  three  miles,  landing  just  below  the  fort  on  Staten 
Island. 

My  movements  after  landing  are  well  known;  and  when  I  look 
back  upon  the  fatality  which  seemed  to  dog  my  steps,  it  seems  as 
though  the  fiend,  who  so  long  had  stood  by  me  in  every  emergency, 
had  deserted  me  at  last,  and  had  left  me  to  my  own  weakness. 

But  I  never  thought  of  this  until  after  my  arrest.  I  had  no  shadow 
of  a  presentiment  that  I  should  be  checked  so  suddenly  and  brought  to 
justice,  and  on  my  return  to  New  York,  made  arrangements  to  go 
away  with  my  family  as  coolly  as  if  nothing  had  occurred  which  should 
counsel  me  to  use  caution. 

But  on  that  fatal  night  when  I  awoke  from  a  deep  sleep  to  find  the 
officers  of  the  law  standing  by  my  bed,  for  the  first  time  fear  overcame 
me,  and  I  grew  faint  and  weak  as  a  baby.  Great  drops  of  sweat 
started  out  on  my  forehead  and  all  over  my  body,  and  then  I  realized 
that  at  last  the  master  whom  I  had  served  so  long  had  really  deserted 
me  and  abandoned  me  to  my  fate. 

But  to  all  outward  appearance  I  choked  these  feelings  down,  and 
none  who  saw  me  dreamed  of  what  was  passing  within. 

My  task  is  done.  I  have  related  all  the  awful  details  of  my  life  with 
as  much  minuteness  as  I  can,  and  now  nothing  is  left  me  but  to  prepare 
to  die. 


66  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF   ALBERT   W.    HICKS. 

I  ask  no  sympathy,  and  expect  none.  I  shall  go  to  the  gallows 
cursed  by  all  who  know  the  causes  which  will  bring  me  there,  and  my 
only  hope  is  that  God  will,  in  his  infinite  mercy,  grant  me  that  spirit 
of  true  repentance  which  may  lead  to  pardon  and  forgiveness  in  the 
world  to  come. 


PHRENOLOGICAL    CHARACTER 

OF 

ALBERT  W.  HICKS, 

GIVEN   AT 

FOWLER  AND  WELLS'  PHRENOLOGICAL  CABINET, 

308    BROADWAY,    NEW    YORK. 

BY  L.  N.  FOWLER,  Professor  of  Phrenology. 
June  29thy  1860, 


He  has  a  remarkably  strong  muscular  organization,  and  bony  system,  which 
has  a  powerful  influence  on  the  tone,  quality  and  direction  of  his  mind.  His 
mental  temperament  is  fairly  developed,  but  not  to  such  an  extent  as  to  give  the 
finer  qualities  to  the  mind  and  character.  He  is  excitable,  and  susceptible  of  in- 
tense feeling,  yet  it  is  rather  a  heated  impulse  of  passion,  than  a  delicate  and  re- 
fined sensibility. 

He  has  a  large  brain,  which  gives  a  great  amount  of  general  mental  power,  and 
with  a  good  education  and  proper  direction,  he  would  be  able  to  exert  a  leading 
and  extensive  influence  over  others. 

His  Phrenological  developments  are  very  marked.  His  head  is  high  in  the 
crown,  and  long,  but  rather  narrow.  Destructiveness  is  not  a  leading  organ,  and 
it  acts  chiefly  as  the  servant  of  his  excessive  will  and  other  strong  propensities, 
which  circumstances  and  bad  training  may  have  made  sources  of  temptation  to 
him.  He  is  however,  strongly  developed  in  Combativeness,  which  gives  the  spirit 
of  resistance,  self-defence,  and  power  to  overcome  obstacles,  and  if  provoked, 
and  had  some  selfish  purpose  to  subserve,  his  Combativeness  and  Firmness  would 
render  him  capable  of  almost  any  act  of  desperation. 

His  social  organs  are  large,  and  he  is  susceptible  of  strong  love  to  woman,  but 
with  such  a  temperament  that  love  would  take  an  animal  direction.  He  is  inte- 
rested in  children  and  home,  and  in  friends  when  they  do  not  oppose  his  course. 
He  is  also  very  continuous  and  protracted  in  mind,  and  never  gives  up  any  pro- 
ject that  he  has  once  resolved  to  accomplish. 

His  Alimentiveness  is  large ;  he  loves  to  gratify  the  appetite  highly,  and  is  liable 
to  indulge  it  too  freely.  His  love  of  property  acts  strongly  in  proportion  to  hi§ 
want  of  it,  and  he  seeks  it  to  spend,  rather  than  to  lay  up,  and  if  he  had  an  abund- 
ance, it  would  go  freely  in  the  gratification  of  his  various  desires. 


68  PHRENOLOGICAL    CHARACTER    OF    ALBERT    W.    HICKS. 

The  tendency  to  be  cunning  and  artful,  is  not  very  strong.  He  is  more  likely  to 
do  things  openly  and  undisguised,  than  he  is  to  work  shrewdly  behind  the  curtain, 
and  do  things  in  such  a  mysterious  way  as  to  defy  detection ;  yet  he  has  much 
Cautiousness,  and  is  watchful  where  there  are  dangers  and  difficulties  to  be  en- 
countered. 

He  has  a  great  amount  of  ambition  to  excel  in  what  he  does.  He  has  also  ex- 
cessive Self-Esteem,  independence,  self-reliance,  and  desire  to  be  the  master  spirit, 
and  maintain  his  own  individuality.  His  will  is  the  strongest  element  of  his  mind, 
and  his  character  is  more  affected  by  it  than  by  any  other  one  faculty  ;  for  what> 
ever  he  may  purpose  to  do  through  the  influence  of  circumstances,  he  will  carry 
out  at  all  hazards. 

His  moral  brain  indicates  large  Hope  and  anticipation,  but  only  medium  Con- 
scientiousness and  Benevolence,  which  hardly  ever  act  in  a  controlling  manner. 

His  Spirituality  is  very  deficient ;  he  has  very  little  idea  of  the  unseen,  and  of 
8ubjects  pertaining  to  the  higher  life,  and  has  scarcely  any  Veneration  at  all, 
which  leads  him  to  act  without  due  regard  to  the  Higher  Power,  and  without  feel- 
ing his  dependence  on,  or  much  responsibility  to,  his  Creator. 

His  mechanical  talent,  sense  of  beauty,  and  love  of  the  sublime,  are  only  ave- 
rage in  power.  His  ability  to  imitate  and  copy,  is  good,  and  his  love  of  fun  rathe* 
strong,  without  being  particularly  given  to  joking  and  fun-making.  He  has  a  cor 
rect  eye  for  proportion,  can  judge  well  of  forms  and  outlines ;  has  a  good  degret 
of  order  and  arrangement,  has  good  native  talents  for  making  estimates  and  cal 
culations ;  has  a  superior  memory  of  places  and  localities,  and  decidedly  good 
abilities  for  any  kind  of  mental  operation  where  order,  method,  system,  know- 
ledge of  principles  and  places  is  required. 

His  conversational  talents  are  poor,  and  his  memory  of  events  not  very  good. 
His  powers  of  comparison  are  excellent;  intuition,  and  ability  to  judge  of  char- 
acter and  motives,  good ;  agreeableness  and  suavity  of  manner  rather  wanting ; 
in  fact,  the  leading  features  of  his  character  grow  out  of  his  will,  determination, 
and  continuity  of  mind ;  a  domineering,  proud,  unsubmissive  spirit,  joined  to 
strong  watchfulness  and  forethought,  and  the  desire  to  accomplish  what  he  at- 
tempts, in  the  most  signal  and  positive  manner.  He  should  be  known  for  love  ol 
his  female  friends,  fondness  for  children,  attachment  to  home,  and  a  fair  degree 
of  sympathy  with  his  friends.  He  has  a  deficiency  of  tact  and  power  to  conceal 
his  feelings,  and  those  qualities  that  give  spirituality,  religious  feeling,  and  sense 
of  dependence.  The  crimes  that  he  has  been  led  to  commit,  are  full  as  much 
the  result  of  a  want  of  the  right  kind  of  education,  as  from  his  natural  organiza- 
tion. He  has  strong  passions,  and  an  unbending  and  headstrong  will ;  but  with 
proper  culture,  and  good  circumstances,  he  would,  most  likely,  have  used  his 
energy  and  talents  in  a  way  to  secure  success  and  respectability,  instead  of  war- 
ring upon  the  rights  and  interests  of  his  fellow  men. 


AU1RT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  69 


THE    EXECUTION 


ON 


BEDLOE'S  ISLAND, 

FKin.MY)    JULiTT    13,    I8  60 


ALBERT  W.  HICKS,  the  pirate  and  murderer,  was  executed  at 
precisely  eleven  o'clock  to-day,  at  Bedloe's  Island,  under  the  direction 
of  the  United  States  Marshal. 

The  gallows,  with  its  gloomy  appurtenances,  was  sent  to  Bedloe's 
Island  on  Thursday,  Marshal  Rynders  giving  his  personal  supervision  to 
its  erection,  locating  the  spot,  and  directing  how  the  work  should  be 
done.  The  place  which  was  selected  for  the  purpose  of  giving  as  many 
persons  as  possible  an  opportunity  to  witness  the  spectacle,  was  upon 
the  northeast  side  of  the  island,  upon  a  green,  sloping  terrace,  which 
forms  the  earthwork  of  the  water-battery  that  surrounds  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  island.  The  spot  was  directly  fronting  the  lower  part  of 
the  city,  giving  a  view  of  the  East  River  and  Brooklyn  ;  it  was  about 
one  hundred  yards  northwest  of  the  landing,  and  elevated  from  six  to 
eight  feet  above  tide  water. 

Everything  being  completed  on  the  island,  the  marshal  returned  to  the 
city,  and  found  his  >ffice  besieged  with  applicants  for  tickets  to  witness  the 
execution.  Hundf  ^ds  who  had  never  seen  a  person  hung,  and  multi- 
tudes of  others  wh  ■>  would  have  shrunk  from  such  a  spectacle  where  an 
ordinary  criminal  was  to  suffer,  clamored  for  "permits"  to  look  upon 
the  last  dying  struggles  of  the  man  whose  extraordinary  career  of 
crime  had  destroyed  every  sentiment  of  pity  in  their  breasts.  These 
tickets  were  dispensed  until  it  was  no  longer  safe  to  trespass  upon  the 
accommodations  of  the  single  steamer  which  had  been  chartered  for 
the  purpose,  though  she  was  of  large  dimensions. 

THE    SCAFFOLD   AND    ITS   HISTORY. 

The  scaffold  is  the  same  which  has  been  employed  for  the  last  twelve 
years  at  the  Tombs.  It  consists  of  two  upright  posts,  supported  by 
timbers,  into  which  they  are  framed  and  braced  at  the  bottom,  and  sur- 
mounted by  the  cross-beam  at  the  top.     The  condemned  person  sn 

5 


70  THE    TRIAL    AND    CONFESSION    OF 

stationed  immediately  beneath,  and  at  the  given  signal  is  lifted  suddenly 
from  the  ground,  by  the  fall  of  heavy  weights,  to  a  height  of  several 
feet.  If  the  cord  has  not  been  carefully  adjusted  with  due  regard  to 
the  compression  and  rupture  of  the  spinal  cord,  death  takes  place  by 
the  tedious  process  of  suffocation,  the  person  often  apparently  con 
scious  for  many  minutes. 

At  the  extremity  of  the  scaffold  is  an  inclosure  in  which  is  con« 
cealed  the  person  who  is  to  cut  the  rope  by  which  the  fatal  weights  are 
suspended. 

This  structure  was  made  some  twelve  years  ago,  and  shows  the  marks 
of  wear,  mildew,  and  hacking  with  an  axe. 

The  first  man  executed  upon  it  was  Coleman,  the  wife-murderer  ;  the 
last  were  James  Stephens,  convicted  of  the  same  offence,  and  John 
Crimmins,  who  took  the  life  of  a  man  in  a  brawl. 

Under  the  present  law  of  the  State,  it  will  not  probably  be  required 
further,  except  by  the  United  States  Marshals,  future  executions  in 
this  State  being  confined  to  the  State  prisons. 

HIS    PARTING    WITH    HIS   WIFE. 

During  the  whole  of  Thursday  the  wife  of  Hicks  remained  with  him 
in  the  cell,  no  one  trespassing  upon  their  privacy  except  the  priest,  who 
entered  occasionally.  This  last  day  spent  by  this  miserable  husband  and 
wife  was  occupied  in  conversing  upon  the  arrangements  which  had  been 
made  by  the  latter  for  the  temporary  support  of  herself  and  child,  her 
principal  expectations  being  derived  from  the  proceeds  of  the  copyright 
of  his  Confession,  which  had  already  been  paid  over  to  him.  From  a 
remark  which  Hicks  made  to  one  of  the  officers  on  Tuesday,  that  "  he 
should  leave  his  wife  all  snug,"  it  was  supposed  that  he  had  revealed  to 
her  what  has  hitherto  been  only  known  to  himself,  the  place  where  she 
could  find  sums  of  money  which  he  had  concealed. 

At  half-past  five  p.m.,  on  Thursday,  father  Duranquet  entered  the 
prisoner's  cell,  and  Hicks'  wife  prepared  to  take  a  final  leave.  Several 
officers  of  the  prison,  and  the  Marshal's  depacies  were  present.  The 
separation,  however,  was  quite  unique  in  its  way.  Rising  and  taking  a 
bundle  of  clothing  under  her  left  arm  she  paused  for  a  moment  in  the 
middle  of  the  cell,  Father  Duranquet  standing  with  his  right  hand  upon 
the  prisoner's  shoulder.  Hicks  took  two  small  volumes  from  a  shelf  of 
his  cell  and  handed  them  to  his  wife.  For  an  instant  he  stood  looking 
down  at  her  with  a  smile,  and  then  reaching  forth  his  hand,  took  hers 
and  shook  it  slightly,  then  leaning  forward,  he  kissed  her  twice,  saying 
in  a  low  voice,  "  Good-bye."  "  Good-bye,  Willie,"  she  replied,  as  she 
turned,  without  apparent  emotion  of  any  kind,  and  left  the  cell.  The 
cell-door  was  now  closed,  the  priest  intimating  that  he  should  spend  the 
night  with  the  condemned  man. 

THE    MORNING    OF   THE    EXECUTION. 

When  Mrs.  Hicks  had  taken  her  leave,  Father  Duranquet  entered 
the  condemned  cell  and  prayed  with  the  culprit  until  about  eleven 
o'clock.     At  that  hour  Mr.  Finley  brought  Hicks  a  cup  of  tea  and  some 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  Tl 

slight  refreshments,  after  partaking  of  which  the  culprit  retired  for  the 
night.  It  was  about  twelve  o'clock  probably  when  the  culprit  fell  into 
a  sleep  so  sound  that  even  the  entrance  of  the  keepers  during  the  night 
did  not  awake  him. 

About  four  o'clock  Hicks  was  awakened  from  the  deep  slumber  into 
which  he  had  fallen  by  one  of  his  keepers,  and  told  to  dress  himself. 
On  being  asked  how  he  passed  the  night,  he  replied  that  he  never  slept 
better  in  all  his  life.  He  further  stated  that  he  never  felt  better  than 
he  did  that  morning,  and  assured  his  keepers  that  he  would  keep  ap  his 
spirits  even  to  the  last  moment.  He  seemed  to  be  entirely  unconcerned 
at  his  fate,  and  manifested  no  signs  of  grief  or  penitence  as  his  last 
moments  on  earth  sped  swiftly  by.  "When  engaged  in  prayer  with 
Father  Duranquet,  his  face  bore  a  meek  and  sorrowful  expression,  but 
as  soon  as  the  religious  ceremonies  were  concluded  his  countenance 
resumed  its  natural  expression  of  firm  indifference. 

About  five  o'clock  Mr.  Finley,  who  had  been  very  attentive  to  the 
culprit  during  his  incarceration  at  the  Tombs,  took  his  leave  of  the 
prisoner,  and  urged  him  to  keep  up -his  spirits  to  the  last.  Hicks  shook 
him  warmly  by  the  hand,  and  thanking  him  for  the  many  acts  of  kind- 
ness he  had  received  at  his  hands,  bade  him  a  last  farewell.  The  cul- 
prit then  remained  closeted  with  his  father  confessor  for  an  hour  or  so, 
and  declined  seeing  any  person  other  than  his  spiritual  adviser. 


READING   OF  THE   DEATH    WARRANT. 

At  nine  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  Marshal  Rynders,  accompanied 
by  Sheriff  Kelly  and  other  city  officials,  entered  the  cell  of  the  culprit. 
Hicks  was  reclining  on  his  bed  at  the  time,  and  quietly  arose  as  the 
officers  entered  the  apartment.  The  Marshal  informed  the  prisoner  that 
the  duty  devolving  upon  him  was  very  unpleasant.  Hicks  said  he  had 
no  doubt  it  was,  and  knew  the  Marshal  would  treat  him  as  kindly  as  he 
could  under  the  circumstances.  The  Marshal  then  read  the  death  war- 
rant to  the  prisoner,  and  at  its  conclusion  told  the  condemned  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  the  approaching  execution.  Hicks  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  array  himself  in  a  suit  of  blue  cottonade,  got  up  for  the 
occasion.  His  coat  was  rather  faucy,  being  ornamented  with  two  rows 
of  gilt  navy  buttons,  and  a  couple  of  anchors  in  needlework.  A  white 
shirt,  a  pair  of  blue  pants,  a  pair  of  light  pumps,  and  the  old  Kossuth 
hat  he  wore  when  he  was  arrested,  completed  the  attire.  Hicks  was 
exceedingly  cool  while  engaged  in  arraying  himself  in  this  fancy  suit, 
and  seemed  as  unconcerned  about  his  approaching  doom  as  though  the 
idea  of  death  had  never  crossed  his  mind.  After  shaking  hands  with 
Mr.  Sutton,  the  warden  of  the  prison,  and  thanking  him  for  his  kind- 
ness while  under  his  charge,  he  said  that  he  wished  to  state  that  he 
was  very  grateful  to  Officer  De  Angelis  and  the  other  deputies  for  their 
kindness  to  him,  as  they  had  done  for  him  even  more  than  he  had 
asked  ;  Mr.  De  Angelis  having  particularly  interested  himself  to  pro- 
vide for  his  wife  and  child  during  his  imprisonment. 

The  confession  which  he  had  made,  he  also  wished  to  say,  was  taken 
down  by  the  deputies  solely  for  the  benefit  of  his  family,  and  he  wished 


12  the"  trial  and  confession  of  albert  w.  hicks. 

them  to  be  acquitted  of  all  wrong  motives  in  connection  with  it. 
Toward  officer  Nevins  and  Mr.  Smith,  who  were  instrumental  in  his 
arrest,  he  said  that  he  held  no  hard  feelings.  On  being  questioned  as 
to  how  he  felt  regarding  the  future  world,  he  replied,  as  if  fearing  to 
express  any  hope,  "  that  is  a  matter  I  would  rather  leave  to  him" 
referring  to  Father  Duranquet,  who  sat  at  his  side.  His  voice  was 
firm,  but  very  low  and  subdued.  "  I  am  resigned,"  lie  said.  "  The 
Marshal  has  treated  me  very  kindly  :  I  will  not  say  anything  on  the 
island."  He  then  intimated  that  he  was  ready,  and  at  9£  o'clock,  a.m., 
he  left  his  cell.  Going  to  the  door  of  Mortimer  Shay,  he  said,  hur- 
riedly, "  Good-bye,"  and  immediately  joining  the  Marshal  and  his 
attendants,  he  left  the  prison. 

STARTING    FROM  THE  TOMBS. 

A  large  crowd  of  persons  assembled  outside  of  the  prison  door,  on 
Franklin  street,  for  the  purpose  of  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  notorious 
pirate  as  he  passed  into  the  carriage  which  was  waiting  in  readiness. 
The  culprit  marched  out  of  prison  attended  by  Father  Duranquet, 
Marshal  Rynders,  Deputy  Marshal  Thompson  and  Sheriff  Kelly,  and 
took  his  seat  in  the  first  carriage.  The  second  carriage  was  filled  with 
deputy  sheriffs,  and  the  third  and  fourth  ones  by  the  police  and  repre- 
sentatives of  the  press.  As  the  culprit  was  passing  into  the  carriage,  he 
shook  the  hands  of  one  of  the  detectives  who  arrested  him,  and  saying 
he  freely  forgave  him,  bade  him  a  last  adieu.  In  reply  to  this,  the 
©fficer  said  he  was  glad  to  see  that  Hicks  had  no  ill-feeling  toward  him, 
and  returning  the  pressure  of  the  hand,  took  his  leave.  The  journey 
from  the  Tombs  to  the  pier,  at  the  foot  of  Canal  street,  occupied  but  a 
few  minutes.  Nothing  worthy  of  mention  occurred  on  the  route.  The 
cortege  moved  silently,  but  quickly  along,  and  none  in  the  streets  knew 
the  character  of  the  procession  until  the  carriages  were  actually  on  the 
wharf. 

THE  SCENE  ON  BOARD  THE  RED  JACKET, 

on  the  arrival  of  the  prisoner,  baffles  description.  A  crowd  of  some 
1,500  persons,  perhaps,  had  assembled  on  board,  and  the  most  intense 
excitement  prevailed.  Gamblers,  fighting  men,  ward  politicians,  re- 
formed drunkards,  actors,  medical  men,  city  officials,  and  bogus 
reporters  without  number,  formed  the  great  bulk  of  the  motley  crew. 
On  the  lower  deck  were  a  bar-room  and  refreshment  saloon,  which  did 
a  brisk  business,  and  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the  comfort  of 
such  of  the  passengers  as  had  come  off  without  their  breakfast.  Be- 
sides, the  day  was  warm,  and  lager-bier  proved  an  excellent  and  cool- 
ing beverage.  At  half-past  nine  o'clock  the  cry  of  "  Here  he  comes" — 
referring  to  the  arrival  of  the  carriage  containing  Hicks  and  the  United 
States  officials — produced  great  commotion  on  board,  and  a  general 
rush  was  made  for  the  gangway  next  the  wharf.  The  arrival  of  Deputy 
Marshal  O'Keefe,  with  the  sword,  belt,  cocked  hat,  and  other  para- 
phernalia of  office,  showed  that  Hicks  was  not  far  behind,  and  the  ex- 
citement rose  to  fever  heat.     In  a  moment  afterward  Marshal  Rynders 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE     PIRATE.  13 

iprang  from  a  carriage,  followed  by  the  culprit,  Deputj  Marshal 
Thompson  and  Sheriff  Kelly.  Hicks,  who  was  securely  pinioned,  was 
attended  to  the  boat  by  two  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,  and  Mr. 
Isaacs,  one  of  the  Deputy  Marshals.  He  seemed  entirely  unmoved  by 
the  exciiing  scene  around  him,  and  never  quailed  once  beneath  the 
stare  of  the  thousands  who  greeted  him  as  he  passed  over  the  gangway. 
The  anxiety  of  the  crowd  to  get  near  the  prisoner  as  he  came  on  board 
was  intense,  and  nothing  but  the  utmost  determination  on  the  part  of 
rhe  Marshal  and  his  assistants,  succeeded  in  preserving  order.  At  last, 
with  considerable  pushing  and  squeezing,  the  officers  managed  to  con- 
vey their  prisoner  to  the  saloon  in  the  after  part  of  the  boat,  where  he 
was  free  for  a  time  from  the  gaze  of  the  rabble. 

Father  Duranquet  was  at  the  culprit's  side,  on  the  way  from  the  car- 
riage to  the  boat,  and  on  entering  the  cabin  at  once  commenced  to 
offer  up  a  prayer.  Hicks  seated  himself  on  a  settee  near  the  cabin 
window,  and  burying  his  face  in  his  hands,  apparently  became  engaged 
in  deep  meditation.  Having  expressed  a  desire  to  be  left  alone  with  the 
priest  for  a  few  moments,  the  officers  and  representatives  of  the  press 
retired  from  the  apartment,  and  proceeded  to  the  saloon  above.  During 
all  this  time  Hicks  maintained  his  usual  self-possession.  No  change 
came  over  his  features  except  on  one  occasion,  when  rising  from  a  kneel- 
ing position  after  being  engaged  in  prayer,  it  was  observed  by  some  of 
the  bystanders  that  he  looked  a  little  flushed.  This  was  the  first  time 
that  his  face  showed  any  signs  of  excitement,  and  it  was  iuferred  from 
that  that  he  would  not  die  so  firmly  after  all.  His  features  soon 
regained  their  natural  expression,  however,  and  Hicks  was  himself 
again.  After  remaining  closeted  with  the  clergyman  for  about  ten 
minutes,  the  prisoner  signified  a  desire  to  speak  with  Marshal  Rynders 
upon  the  subject  of  the  approaching  execution.  The  Marshal  was 
promptly  in  attendance,  when  the  culprit  informed  him  that  it  was  his 
intention  not  to  make  any  remarks  when  he  arrived  at  the  scaffold. 
He  did  not  wish,  he  said,  to  talk  to  any  one  or  to  be  talked  to  by  the 
Driest,  the  Marshal  or  anybody  else.  He  hoped,  he  said,  the  execution 
would  be  conducted  with  as  much  dispatch  as  possible,  and  that  every- 
thing would  pass  off  quietly  and  silently.  The  Marshal  assured  him 
r,hat  his  wishes  would  be  gratified,  and  that  nothing  would  be  left  un- 
done to  ease  the  mind  of  the  prisoner  in  his  last  moments. 

THE    PASSAGE    TO    BEDLOE's    ISLAND. 

^  The  boat — the  Red  Jacket — chartered  for  the  occasion  by  the  United 
States  authorities,  was  crowded,  almost  to  her  utmost,  when  the  pri- 
soner was  brought  on  board,  in  the  custody  of  Deputy-Marshal  De 
Angelis,  who  has  had  especial  charge  of  him  since  his  trial.  Marshal 
Rynders  superintended  his  transfer  from  the  shore  to  the  ship.  He  was 
taken  aft  to  what,  on  ordinary  occasions,  would  have  been  the  ladies' 
cabin,  accompanied  by  Father  Duranquet,  the  Marshal,  Deputy-Marshals 
De  Angelis  and  Thompson,  and  Sheriff  Kelly.  For  a  short  time  the 
eabin  was  filled  with  curious  persons,  who,  however,  had  the  good  feel- 
ing *€  vptjvs  at  an  intimation  from  the  prisoner,  that  he  wished  to  con- 


*J4  THE   TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

fer  uninterruptedly  with  the  priest.  Subsequently  he  came  from  the 
cabin  and  looked  from  the  windows  on  the  river,  evincing  no  show  of 
feeling.  But  for  the  fact  that  he  was  known  to  be  the  man  who  was 
to  die,  his  apparent  unconcern  for  the  great  event  of  the  day,  would  not 
have  struck  anybody,  as  he  would  simply  have  been  set  down  as  one 
of  the  crowd  of  spectators.  As  it  was,  known  as  he  was,  as  Hicks  the 
pirate,  whose  moments  of  life  were  ebbing  with  every  evolution  of  the 
paddles  that  threw  back  the  spray  of  the  hissing  water  almost  in  his 
face — those  who  saw  him  wondered,  and  came,  perhaps,  reluctantly  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  man  had  no  human  feeling.  Probably  those 
who  said  so  did  him  wrong,  but  his  coolness  and  self-possession  were  at 
least  remarkable,  even  for  a  great  and  hardened  criminal. 

On  leaving  the  pier,  the  Red  Jacket  proceeded  for  a  while  up  the 
river,  before  making  a  turn  to  approach  the  island.  She  passed  the 
Harriet  Lane  and  the  Great  Eastern,  and  one  would  have  thought  that 
those  ships,  especially  the  latter,  were  the  sights  for  the  sake  of  which 
the  whole  excursion  had  been  planned.  The  rush  to  the  side  of  the 
Red  Jacket  when  passing  the  mammoth  steamer  was  so  great  that  the 
former  nearly  dipped  her  gunwales  in  the  water,  and  the  officers  of 
the  United  States  Marshal  on  board  had  to  use  their  authority  to  draw 
the  crowd  away,  and  restore  the  equilibrium  of  the  boat  to  prevent  her 
capsizing. 

ARRIVAL    AT   THE    ISLAND. 

As  the  boat  neared  the  pier,  Marshal  Rynders,  in  a  few  remarks,  im- 
pressed upon  the  crowd  the  necessity  of  preserving  order  and  obeying 
the  instructions  of  his  officers.  The  police,  he  stated,  were  to  go  ashore 
first  and  take  up  their  position  at  the  scaffold,  and  then  the  crowd 
were  to  follow  four  abreast.  About  five  minutes  were  occupied  in 
arranging  the  order  of  procession,  preparing  the  culprit,  etc.  Finally, 
at  ten  minutes  past  eleven  o'clock,  all  being  in  readiness,  the  procession 
started  from  the  boat  in  the  following  order  : 

The  culprit,  supported  on  either  side  by  Father  Duranquet  and 

Deputy  Sheriff  Isaacs. 

Marshal  Rynders,  Deputy  Marshal  Thompson  and  Sheriff  Kelly. 

Deputy  Marshals  De  Angelis,  O'Keefe,  Theodore  Rynders,  Thompson, 

Donnell,  Wilson,  Dugan,  Clackner  and  others. 

The  physician's  staff,  consisting  of  Doctors  Woodward,  Thompson 

Weltje,  Bell,  Phelps,  Barry,  Kennedy  and  Church. 

The  representatives  of  the  press,  numbering  about  fifty,  genuine 

and  bogus. 

Deputy  Sheriffs,  city  officials,  and  spectators. 

Police. 

As  the  procession  passed  from  the  side  of  the  boat  to  the  pier, 
Major  John  B.  Hall,  who  had  charge  of  the  military  arrangements,  ad 
vanced  with  a  platoon  of  marines,  and,  forming  a  line  on  each  side  of 
the  pier,  allowed  the  procession  to  pass  up  to  the  shore.  Here  the 
cortege  was  flanked  on  each  side  by  troops  which  had  been  sent  from 


ALBERT   W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  75 

Fort  Hamilton  and  Governor's  Island  for  the  purpose  ;  and  as  the  tail 
end  of  the  procession  passed  over  the  side  of  the  boat  the  military 
closed  in  behind  and  formed  a  hollow  square  all  the  way  up  to  the  foot 
of  the  scaffold.  The  scene  was  a  most  imposing  one  indeed,  and  wiH 
long  be  remembered  by  those  who  witnessed  it.  The  presence  of  the 
military  in  such  large  force,  the  perfect  discipline  of  the  soldiers,  the 
appearance  of  the  culprit  as  he  passed  on  his  way  to  the  gallows,  the 
fleet  of  steamers,  sailing  vessels  and  small  boats  laden  to  the  waters' 
edge  with  a  breathless  multitude,  all  contributed  to  make  the  scene 
intensely  exciting  and  unusually  interesting.  Of  all  those  assembled, 
Hicks  himself,  perhaps,  was  the  least  excited  and  unmoved.  He  viewed 
the  scene  with  the  most  wonderful  indifference,  as  though  it  was  any 
every  day  occurrence,  and  walked  through  the  long  line  of  military  as 
unconcerned  as  though  nothing  unusual  was  going  on. 

The  path  from  the  steamboat  wharf  to  the  spot  selected  for  the  exe- 
cution lay  along  the  water's  edge,  so  that  Hicks  had  a  full  and  unob- 
structed view  of  all  that  was  going  on  around  him  ;  yet  he  was  as 
stoical  as  an  Indian,  and  passed  on  without  apparently  noticing  the 
military  display  or  the  multitude  that  had  assembled  to  witness  his 
execution.  His  extraordinary  coolness  under  such  circumstances  ex- 
cited the  wonderment  of  all.  Nobody  had  ever  seen  anything  like  it 
before. 

On  the  arrival  at  Bedloe's  Island,  the  scene  was  a  surprising  one. 
Steamboats,  barges,  oyster  sloops,  yachts  and  row-boats,  swarmed 
everywhere  in  view  of  the  gallows.  They  had  come  from  all  parts. 
From  Connecticut,  where  the  murdered  captain  and  the  brothers  Watts 
belonged  ;  from  Long  Island,  where  they  were  well  known.  Large 
steamers,  such  as  carry  hundreds  of  people  away  on  pleasure  excursions, 
were  there,  so  laden  with  a  living  freight  of  curious  people,  that  it 
seemed  almost  a  wonder  that  they  did  not  sink  incontinently.  There 
were  barges  there  with  awnings  spread,  under  which  those  who  were 
thirsty  imbibed  lager-bier.  There  were  row-boats,  with  ladies — no, 
with  females  of  some  sort,  in  them,  shielding  their  complexion  from  the 
sun  with  their  parasols,  while  from  beneath  the  fringes  and  the  tassels 
they  viewed  the  dying  agonies  of  the  choking  murderer.  But  most 
conspicuous  of  all,  and  most  regarded,  was  the  sloop  E.  A.  Johnson, 
on  which  the  murders  were  committed.  Newly  painted,  she  stood  well 
into  shore,  her  stern  not  three  hundred  feet  from  the  gallows,  with  a 
huge  burgee  flying  from  her  top-mast  head,  on  which  her  name  was 
painted  in  large  red  letters.  Her  deck  was  crowded,  her  masts  and 
spars  were  alive  with  human  beings.  Did  the  murderer  see  her  before 
the  cap,  that  was  to  shut  out  all  mundane  objects  forever  from  his  view, 
was  drawn  over  his  face  ?  His  face  was  turned  fully  toward  her  when 
he  died.  • 

When  the  Red  Jacket  had  reached  the  island,  Marshal  Rynders, 
whose  arrangements,  and  his  mode  of  carrying  them  into  effect  were 
throughout  of  the  most  admirable  kind,  first  had  the  boat  cleared  of  all 
persons  but  his  own  officers,  the  physicians  and  members  of  the  press. 
Then  the  physicians  passed  out  first,  some  twenty  or  more  in  number, 
among  whom  we  noticed  Drs.  G.  F.  Woodward,  A.  C.  Bell,  Guilmette, 


76  THE    TRIAL    AND    CONFESSION    OF 

I 

Weltje,  Phelps,  Barry,  and  Dr.  Kennedy,  of  the  police  force.  Then 
came  the  reporters  and  sundry  parties,  such  as  Aldermen  and  Council 
men,  and  others  of  less  note.  These  all  were  ordered  to  form  in  line 
on  the  boat,  while  the  prisoner,  in  charge  of  Mr.  De  Angelis,  followed 
by  the  Marshal  and  his  aids,  landed  on  the  island.  The  foregoing  order 
of  procession  was  then  resumed,  and  so  the  cortege  reached  the  scaffold 
— Hicks  ascending  the  hill  alone  and  walking  with  a  firm  step.  His 
eyes  were  directed  to  the  earth,  and  he  did  not  appear  to  be  conscious 
of  the  motley  and  strange  scene  before  him. 

It  was  a  motley  and  strange  scene,  indeed.  On  the  water,  there 
were  not  less  than  from  10,000  to  11,000  persons  present,  in  costumes 
almost  as  variegated  as  at  a  carnival.  White  shirts,  red  shirts,  blue 
shirts,  blue  jackets,  red  jackets,  green  jackets,  and  every  steamer,  vessel 
and  yacht,  decorated  with  lively-colored  flags,  while  the  uproar  was 
incessant — cries  of  "  Down  in  front,"  "  Get  out  of  the  way," — rising 
from  hundreds  of  throats  at  the  same  time. 


THE  SCENE  FROM  THE  GALLOWS 

was,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  and  suggestive  feature  of  the  entire 
affair.  Numberless  small  boats,  crowded  with  men  and  boys,  lay  in 
the  river,  directly  before  the  gallows,  covering  an  area  of  several  acres. 
Beyond  these  were  about  forty  sailing  vessels,  sloops,  and  schooners, 
conspicuous  among  which  was  the  E.  A.  Johnson  ;  and  still  further  lay 
no  less  than  eleven  excursion  steamboats,  laden  with  spectators,  who, 
crowding  to  the  island  side  of  the  boats,  caused  them  to  sink  on  that 
side  to  the  water's  edge.  The  anxious  spectators,  in  their  desire  to 
witness  the  execution,  climbed  upon  the  machinery,  on  the  walking- 
beam,  and  other  dangerous  places.  The  masts  of  the  sailing  vessels 
'vere  all  black  with  sailors  clinging  to  them,  apparently  in  the  most 
uncomfortable  positions.  So  close  were  the  boats  together  that  from 
near  the  gallows  it  was  impossible  to  see  the  water  between  them. 

The  effect  was  that  of  a  vast  raft  crowded  with  men,  many  of  them 
in  red  shirts,  and  the  majority  of  them  sailors.  There  were  a  number 
of  boats,  however,  from  Jersey  City,  Brooklyn,  and  adjacent  places, 
containing  professional  men  and  others. 

It  is  difficult — indeed  impossible — to  estimate  the  number  present. 
Some  put  the  number  as  high  as  ten,  and  certainly  it  was  not  less  than 
five  thousand.  The  gallows  was  not  hidden  by  any  awning  whatever, 
and  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  those  who  arranged  the  affair  to 
have  given  the  public  a  better  opportunity  of  witnessing  it. 

The  conduct  of  the  people  in  the  boats  was  remarked  by  many  as 
being  very  exemplary.  There  was  no  noise,  no  confusion,  and  no  ex- 
pression of  either  hatred  or  pity.  Once  or  twice,  when  some  of  the 
soldiers  or  officers  got  before  the  scaffold,  so  as  to  intercept  the  view, 
there  would  be  a  shout  to  get  out  of  the  way  ;  but  even  this  emanated 
from  the  boys,  and  not  from  the  grown  portion  of  the  audience 


iLBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  77 


THE    EXECUTION. 


The  procession  reached  the  foot  of  the  scaffold  at  ten  minutes  past 
eleven  o'clock.  The  culprit  immediately  knelt  on  the  grass,  and  for  a 
moment  or  two  was  engaged  in  prayer.  He  then  rose  slowly,  and, 
facing  the  fleet  of  vessels  which  were  anchored  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
shore,  gazed  intently  on  the  vast  throng.  While  thus  engaged  in  sur- 
veying the  exciting  scene,  his  eye  caught  the  burgee  of  the  identical 
oyster -sloop  E.  A.  Johnson.  He  gazed  at  the  flag  for  a  moment,  as  if 
in  recognition,  and  then,  lowering  his  eyes,  looked  long  and  earnestly 
upon  the  vessel  and  its  crew.  The  sight  did  not  seem  to  shake  him  in 
the  least,  however,  for  he  remained  firm  and  indifferent  to  the  very  last. 
At  length  the  fatal  moment  arrived,  the  executioner  is  observed  to 
place  the  rope  around  the  culprit's  neck,  the  black  cap  is  drawn  over 
the  unfortunate  wretch's  face,  the  Marshal  takes  his  position  beside  the 
criminal,  sword  in  hand,  the  fatal  signal,  the  waving  of  a  handkerchief, 
is  given,  the  axe  descends,  and  the  next  moment  the  body  of  the  pirate 
is  seen  dangling  between  earth  and  heaven. 

The  execution  took  place  at  a  quarter  past  eleven  o'clock  precisely. 
For  thxi  first  three  minutes  the  culprit  struggled  severely,  but  after  that 
he  appeared  to  suffer  little  or  no  pain,  and  died  comparatively  an  easy 
death.  At  eighteen  minutes  past  eleven  his  limbs  began  to  relax,  and 
the  absence  of  any  muscular  contraction  denoted  that  the  executioner's 
work  was  well-nigh  over. 

A  moment  afterward  there  was  a  short  convulsive  twitch  of  the 
shoulders,  and  all  was  still  as  death  itself.  Now  the  hands  of  the  cul- 
prit begin  to  grow  dark  under  the  influence  of  the  piuionings,  and  the 
neck  above  the  noose  assumes  a  similar  hue,  and  the  body  becomes  per- 
fectly motionless,  except  when  moved  to  and  fro  by  the  wind. 

Eleven  minutes  after  the  rope  had  been  cut,  the  body  was  lowered 
several  feet,  so  as  to  give  the  physicians  an  opportunity  of  examining 
the  heart  and  pulse  of  the  criminal.  A  slight  muscular  contraction  of 
the  heart  was  the  only  remaining  sign  of  life.  But  in  a  few  minutes 
even  this  had  fled,  and  the  doctors  pronounced  life  to  be  extinct. 
However,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  let  the  body  remain  suspended  for 
some  time  longer;  so  the  corpse  was  raised  again  to  its  original  position, 
and  allowed  to  remain  there  until  a  quarter  to  twelve  o'clock. 


LOWERING   THE    BODY. 

The  body  having  been  suspended  half  an  hour,  the  (Marshal  ordered 
it  to  be  lowered  and  placed  in  a  coffin  which  was  in. -'readiness  to  re- 
ceive it.  A  large  piece  of  canvas  was  spread  under*  the  scaffold,  and 
on  this  was  placed  the  coffin.  Upon  removing  the'  black  cap  which 
enveloped  the  head  of  deceased,  his  features  were  found  to  be  quite 
natural.  His  face  bore  a  calm  expression,  and  nothing  but  a  slight 
protrusion  of  the  tongue  denoted  that  death  had  been  produced  by  any 
other  than  a  natural  cause.  The  neck  of  the  culprit '  had  been  dislo- 
cated by  the  jerk,  which  accounted  for  the  remarkably  easy  manner  in 


78  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

which  he  died.     Of  the  numerous  criminals  whom  it  has  been  our  lot 
to  see  executed,  none  other  suffered  so  little  as  the  pirate  Hicks. 

The  lid  of  the  coffin  having  been  secured,  the  remains  were  placed  on 
board  the  tug*  Only  Son,  and  landed  at  the  Custom-house  dock.  His 
wife — poor  thing,  a  widow  then — through  some  misapprehension, 
waited  for  them  at  another  locality,  accompanied  by  a  priest,  and  the 
body  was  interred  in  Calvary  Cemetery  without  her  knowledge.  In  con- 
nection with  this  unhappy  mistake,  we  are  requested  to  publish  the 
following : 

"New  York,  July  13,  1860. 
"  I  hereby  certify  that  I  was  present  at  the  execution  of  A.  W. 
Hicks,  this  day,  July  13,  1860,  on  Bedloe's  Island,  and  took  charge  of 
the  body  at  the  gallows,  and  after  Marshal  Rynders  had  it  placed  on 
board  the  steamboat  Only  Son.  It  was  conveyed  at  once  to  the  Cus- 
tom-house Dock,  and  then  I  had  it  conveyed  at  once  to  Calvary  Ceme- 
tery, for  interment,  sending  two  of  my  attendants  with  it,  who  expected 
to  meet  the  widow  of  the  late  A.  W.  Hicks  there.  They  remained  at 
the  Cemetery  until  half-past  five  o'clock.  As  the  widow  did  not  arrive, 
we  had  the  body  buried. 

"  W.  H.  Taylor,  No.  163  Bowery. 

"  C.  E.  Deriffney, 

"B.Hays." 

11 1  certify  that  the  above  signatures  are  correct,  and  that  he  was 
buried  by  men  in  my  employ.  "  W.  H.  Taylor.." 

Hicks  made  no  speech  at  the  gallows,  as  it  was  generally  expected 
he  would  have  done.  His  only  words  were,  "  Hang  me  quick — make 
haste."  His  demeanor  was  calm  and  collected  ;  was  indeed  such  as 
might  have  created  sympathy  for  him,  if  the  remembrance  of  his  ap- 
palling crimes  had  not  been  too  vivid.  As  it  was,  twelve  or  thirteen 
thousand  persons  regarded  the  scene  without  even  any  touch  of  sad- 
ness. Few  men  have  passed  from  earth  so  wholly  unregretted  as  did 
this  murderer  and  pirate. 

The  arrangements,  from  first  to  last,  were  perfect,  so  much  so  that 
on  the  return  of  the  Red  Jacket  to  the  city,  a  meeting  of  the  passen- 
gers was  called,  and  a  resolution  commendatory  of  Marshal  Rynders, 
his  deputies  and  aids,  was  adopted  by  acclamation. 

THE    RETURN   10    THE    CITY. 

Before  the  body  was  taken  down,  a  number  of  the  heavily  laden 
excursion  boats  had  started  on  their  homeward  way,  among  them  the 
Stevens,  the  Mayflower,  the  J.  Lockwood  and  others. 

The  collection  of  small  boats  also  began  soon  to  break  up,  and  imme- 
diately after  the  body  was  removed,  the  sails  were  unfurled,  the  rowers 
took  their  oars  and  the  fleet  quietly  dispersed.  The  Red  Jacket,  with 
the  policemen  and  the  same  crowd  of  passengers  it  brought  up,  was 
one  of  the  last  to  leave.  Perhaps  the  delay  was  occasioned  by  the 
desire  of  those  on  board  to  hold  parley  with  a  party  on  board  a  smaller 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE.  79 

vessel  going  down  the  bay  to  meet  the  Vanderbilt  and  John  0.  Heenan. 
A  cannon  was  on  this  smaller  vessel,  which  was  fired  a  short  time  after 
the  execution.  People  hearing  it,  not  knowing  the  circumstances,  might 
have  naturally  concluded  that  it  was  a  feu  de  jok  over  the  successful 
hanging  of  the  pirate  Hicks. 

On  the  return  trip,  the  Red  Jacket  made  a  short  excursion  up  the 
river  as  far  as  opposite  Spring  street,  and  then  returning  down  stream, 
landed  her  passengers  at  pier  No.  1. 

THE    GENERAL    FEELING. 

Never,  perhaps,  has  a  criminal  been  executed  in  New  York  for  whom 
a  less  degree  of  sympathy  was  felt  than  in  the  case  of  Hicks.  This  was 
caused  by  the  enormity  of  his  crimes,  while  the  detestation  of  the  crimi- 
nal was  heightened  by  his  offensive  demeanor  and  the  spirit  of  bravado 
evinced  in  his  somewhat  apocryphal  published  confession. 

The  detestation  was  evinced  in  a  coarse  manner  by  the  remarks  made 
by  those  who  witnessed  the  execution.  The  majority  thought  and  said 
that  hanging  was  too  good  for  him,  while  others  expressed  a  sort  of 
fiendish  regret  that  he  had  not  suffered  more  at  his  execution.  "Watts 
and  Burr  had  not  such  an  easy  death,"  they  said.  No  one  heard  an 
expression  of  sympathy  for  the  pirate. 

Some  persons  strongly  approved  of  the  place  and  mode  of  hanging. 
"Capital  place,"  they  said;  "just  the  place  to  hang  a  man  where 
everybody  can  have  a  fair  sight  of  him."  And  others  thought  that 
every  execution  ought  to  take  place  on  Bedloe's  Island. 

THE   DISPOSITION    OF   THE    CULPRIT'S    CLOTHING. 

"  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  July  10,  1860. 

"  Sir, — After  the  execution  of  Hicks,  will  you  please  deliver  to  the 
proper  owners  and  claimants,  the  clothing  which  was  taken  by  officer 
Nevin,  at  Providence — that  is,  to  Mrs.  Burr,  and  Mrs.  Hubbard,  mother 
of  Smith  Watts — as  there  will  be  no  further  need  of  detaining  it.  Mr. 
Simmons  will  receive  from  Mr.  Stillwell,  the  Clerk  of  the  Court,  the 
money  which  we  used  for  identification  on  the  trial  ;  and  Mrs.  Burr 
will  receive  her  husband's  watch  there  also.  These  things  have  been 
in  charge  of  Mr.  Stillwell,  uuder  seal  and  lock  since  then. 

"  I  had  not  time  to  call  on  you  in  regard  to  this  matter  before  I  left 
town  last  week,  as  I  hoped  to  be  able  to.  Permit  me  to  express  to  you, 
both  for  myself  and  the  prosecution,  which  I  represented  at  that  time, 
thanks  for  the  courteous  and  thorough  manner  in  which  you  performed 
your  part  in  the  affair  ;  and  to  assure  you  that  it  was  a  source  of 
great  satisfaction  to  the  federal  officers  to  meet  with  such  hearty 
and  able  cooperation  as  we  did  at  the  hands  of  yourself,  officer  Nevin, 
and  others  of  your  precinct. 

"  I  shall  hope  to  continue  my  acquaintance  with  you  when  I  return 
to  town  to  resume  my  private  practice  ;  and  meanwhile  I  remain,  very 
respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"James  F.  Dwigbt 

"  Capt.  Hart  B.  Weed,  Second  precinct  police,  etc.,  etc." 


80  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 


BLOOD   FOR    GOLD ;    OR,    THE    CONFESSION  OF   HICKS,    THE   P1RATB. 

Adah.  Wh© 

Art  thou  that  steppest  between  heart  and  heart  ? 
Cain.— He  is  a  god. 

Adah.  How  know'st  thou? 

Cain.  He  speaks  like 

A  god. 
Adah.— And  so  did  the  serpent,  and  it  lied.  Gain. 

The  lighthouse  faded  with  the  shore, 

The  clouds  of  night  came  on — 
The  silent  shark's  grim,  shadowy  form 

Beneath  the  moonbeams  shone — 
As  gaily  o'er  the  dashing  foam 
We  held  our  course  alone. 


While,  happy  in  his  dreams  of  home, 

Each  weary  messmate  slept, 
That  night  upon  the  fated  deck 

The  lonely  watch  I  kept, 
When,  gliding  o'er  the  vessel's  side, 

A  figure  toward  me  crept. 

A  form  I  ne'er  had  seen  before, 

With  footfall  like  the  snake  ; 
The  terror  of  that  midnight  hour 

Still  bids  my  bosom  quake — 
And  straight  advancing,  did  implore 

My  leave  the  helm  to  take. 

His  look  was  keen,  his  words  were  few, 

His  voice  was  low  and  clear — 
The  magic  of  its  mellow  tone 

Was  melody  to  hear. 
"  Whence  art  thou,  stranger  friend  ?"  quoth  I, 

"  And  what  thy  mission  here  ?" 

"  I  am  the  Prince  of  Earth  and  Air," 

The  fiend-like  form  replied ; 
"If  thou,  dispelling  doubt  and  fear, 

Dost  in  my  faith  abide, 
I  pledge  thee,  to  thy  cause  sincere, 

This  night,  we  rule  the  tide. 

"  To  me  the  lapse  of  ages  seem 

A  brief  and  fleeting  span ; 
My  shadow  darkened  Eden's  streams— 

Old  Ocean's  depths  I  scan ; 
And  traverse  every  spot  of  earth, 

Invisible  to  man." 

With  arm  of  might  that  dreadful  night, 

I  struck  the  fatal  blow — 
Beheld  the  thick'ning  life-drops  fall 

Upon  the  placid  brow — 
And  hurl'd  the  supplicating  form 

Amid  the  waves  below. 


ALBERT    W.    HICKS,    THE    PIRATE. 

The  billows  quenched  the  dying  groan. 
And  hushed  the  gasping  breath; 

I  saw  the  struggling  form  go  down 
To  watery  worlds  beneath, 

Without  a  eigh  or  prayer  for  him 
Who  passed  from  sleep  to  death. 

Alone  upon  the  boundless  deep. 

Upon  the  trackless  sea, 
Where'er  the  billowy  surges  sweep, 

No  human  face  I  see — 
I  little  thought  that  there  was  One 

Who  had  an  eye  for  me. 

And  now,  an  outcast's  death  I  die, 
My  hands  with  gore  imbrued ; 

The  Christian's  grave  were  mine,  had  I 
The  tempter's  snare  withstood, 

Nor  shed  a  brother's  blood  for  gold, 
To  forfeit  gold  for  blood ! 


81 


T.  0.  0. 


BROOKLYN,  JWM,  1S60. 


THE  PIRATE  GIBBS. 

As  anything  connected  with  pirates  is  just  now  eagerly  discussed  by 
the  excited  populace,  we  here  append  a  short  statement,  which  we  find 
in  "The  New  York  Times"  of  July  14.  Twenty-nine  years  ago,  the 
Pirate  Gibbs  was  executed  at  Ellis'  Island,  for  crimes  similar  to  those 
of  Hicks. 

During  the  imprisonment  of  Gibbs,  after  his  conviction  for  piracy,  he 
made  full  and  free  confessions  of  his  crimes.  His  confidant  was  Thomas 
Morris,  then  United  States  Marshal  for  this  District.  The  memoranda 
of  these  confessions,  made  at  the  time  by  Mr.  Morris,  are  still  in  exist- 
ence, and  from  them  we  derive  the  particulars  which  follow.  The  paper 
on  which  they  are  written  is  yellow  with  age,  and  the  ink  brown  and 
faded. 

Gibbs  seems  to  have  made  conflicting  statements,  for  the  broken 
parts  of  his  narrative,  scattered  over  a  dozen  pages  of  manuscript,  do 
not  fit  together,  and  in  some  instances  there  is  a  flat  contradiction  of 
one  portion  with  another.  With  some  pains,  we  gather  the  story  of 
the  pirate's  life,  as  told  by  himself,  free  from  the  discrepancies  into 
which  he  appears  to  have  fallen  with  the  utmost  deliberation.  Omit- 
ting those  passages  which  he  afterward  declared  to  have  been  purposely 
falsified,  we  reduce  the  confessions  to  the  order  which  follows.  It  will 
be  observed  that,  like  Hicks,  Gibbs  boasted  of  the  commission  of  oue 
hundred  murders,  and  also  gives  the  particulars  of  some  of  the  more 
heinous  of  his  crimes. 

In  the  course  of  his  conversations  with  Marshal  Morris,  Gibbs  stated 
that  he  entered  the  United  States  Navy  at  the  age  of  15,  as  a  midship- 


82  THE    TRIAL   AND    CONFESSION    OF 

man.  His  father  was  a  sailing-master  in  the  Navy,  and  held  the  com- 
mand of  a  gun-boat  attached  to  the  flotilla  of  Com.  Creighton  in  the 
time  of  the  war  of  1812.  Young  Gibbs  served  on  board  his  father's 
boat  from  1813  to  1815,  but  finally  relinquished  his  place,  from  disgust 
with  the  severity  of  naval  discipline.  The  wishes  of  his  father  weighed 
very  little  in  the  unsettled  mind  of  the  son,  and  he  went  his  ways  to 
find  a  living  elsewhere.  Gibbs  went  to  Boston,  and  tried  the  experi- 
ment of  store-keeping  in  a  small  way,  and  soon  tired  of  a  life  which 
offered  no  excitement,  and  again  determined  to  go  to  sea.  He  shipped 
before  the  mast  on  board  the  brig  Harriet,  for  a  West  Indian  voyage, 
and  performed  his  contract  to  the  letter,  making  the  round  voyage,  and 
subsequently  returned  to  Havana.  That  wag  the  end  of  his  honest 
career.  From  the  period  of  his  return  to  Havana,  he  entered  upon  a 
life  of  crime,  and  went  from  bad  to  worse,  until  he  expiated  his  offences 
by  the  forfeit  of  his  life,  at  Ellis'  Island,  in  the  summer  of  1830,  in  com- 
pany with  his  confederate,  Walmsley,  a  negro. 

As  nearly  as  can  be  gathered  from  Gibbs'  statements,  his  piratical 
career  began  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1818,  or  the  early  months 
of  1819.  The  pirates  who  then  infested  the  Spanish  main,  had  their 
head-quarters  in  Havana,  where  they  received  the  encouragement  of 
the  merchants,  by  whom  their  illegal  cargoes  were  usually  purchased 
at  one-half  their  actual  value  ;  nor  did  the  government  exercise  any 
vigilance  in  the  suppression  of  this  contraband  traffic.  Gibbs,  whose 
proclivity  to  evil  was  irremediable,  found  means  to  place  himself  in 
communication  with  the  pirates  soon  after  his  arrival  at  Havana,  and 
presently  became  a  leading  spirit  in  all  the  cruel  and  bloody  enter- 
prises of  the  freebooters. 

Three  or  four  years  were  passed  in  this  way,  before  Gibbs  set  up 
business  on  his  own  account.  During  the  whole  period  of  his  connection 
with  the  gang,  as  it  appears  from  his  confessions,  he  made  common 
cause  with  the  pirates,  helped  them  in  their  diabolical  work,  and  re- 
ceived his  share  of  the  net  proceeds  of  their  captures.  His  first  field 
of  operations  was  in  and  about  Cape  Antonio,  the  Bahamas,  Stirrup 
Key,  and  the  Double-headed  Shot-Keys.  His  confession  to  Marshal 
Morris,  given  in  his  own  words,  sums  up  the  result  of  this  first  cruise 
of  four  years,  as  follows  : 

"  We  made  about  twenty  prizes,  which  were  very  valuable.  We 
realized  from  them  $500,000  to  $600,000,  but  they  were  worth  three 
times  what  we  got  for  them.  The  crews  of  the  piratical  vessels  were 
sometimes  20,  30  or  40  men,  and  the  proceeds  of  a  crime  were  equally 
divided  among  them.  All  the  crews  of  the  vessels  we  captured  were 
put  to  death  ;  sometimes  shot,  and  sometimes  thrown  overboard.  No 
quarter  was  given  when  captures  were  made." 

On  another  occasion,  Gibbs  said  : 

"  We  used  to  receive  considerable  encouragement  from  wealthy 
merchants  at  the  Havana,  who  would  take  our  cargoes  and  give  us 
half  the  value  of  them  ;  particularly  from  one  merchant,  a  native  Spa- 
niard, who  was  reported  to  be  worth  from  $700,000  to  $800,000." 

About  the  year  1820,  or  1821,  off  Cape  Antonio,  the  vessel  in  which 
Gibbs  served  captured  the  ship  Caroline.     She  had  on  board  three 


ALBERT  W.  HICKS,  THE  PIRATE.  83 

officers,  eight  seamen,  a  cook  and  steward.  She  was  run  on  shore  at 
Cape  Antonio,  where  the  pirates  intended  to  take  out  the  goods  and 
send  them  to  Havana,  and  then  to  destroy  the  officers  and  crew.  The 
mate  was  wounded  during  the  conflict.  Before  the  work  of  destruction 
could  be  completed,  however,  the  United  States  brig  Enterprise,  then 
commanded  by  Lieut,  (now  Commodore)  Kearney,  hove  in  sight,  and 
the  pirates  were  compelled  to  abandoned  their  prize.  They  lost  their 
own  vessel,  with  three  other  cargoes  which  had  been  stored  at  the  cape 
for  shipment  to  Havana,  all  of  which  were  taken  away  by  the  Enter- 
prise. Escaping  to  Havana,  the  pirates,  deprived  of  their  vessel, 
scattered  in  different  directions,  and  Gibbs  found  his  way  to  Buenos 
Ayres.  He  entered  the  navy  of  that  State,  and  served  for  six  months 
in  the  capacity  of  Lieutenant.  Having  resigned  that  post,  he  got 
command  of  a  little  brig  called  the  Piciana,  formerly  the  Spitfire,  of 
Baltimore.  In  this  craft  he  made  two  cruises,  but  afterward  sold  her 
and  purchased  a  larger  vessel.  While  privateering  off  Buenos  Ayres, 
he  made  about  fifty  captures,  some  of  which  were  very  valuable,  and 
others  worth  but  little.  Separate  command  seemed  to  aggravate  the 
bloodthirsty  spirit  of  the  fellow,  for  he  made  this  confession,  among 
others  equally  revolting,  viz. : 

"  I  cannot  tell  exactly  how  many  lives  I  may  have  taken,  but  sup- 
pose the  number  to  be  about  one  hundred.  The  greater  part  of  these 
were  killed  in  action.  I  have  killed,  occasionally,  men  under  my  own 
command,  which  I  was  fully  authorized  to  do  by  the  party  I  com- 
manded, whenever  my  authority  was  resisted,  and  it  was  thought  to  be 
for  the  good  of  the  whole.  My  own  life  also  was  frequently  in  danger 
from  the  violence  of  my  associates.  I  do  not  remember  the  number  oi 
my  companions  killed  by  me,  but  they  may  amount  to  six." 

THE    STORY   OF    A   DUTCH    GIRL. 

The  only  instance  of  his  cool-blooded  cruelty  for  which  he  appeared 
to  feel  any  compunction,  was  the  murder  of  a  young  girl.  The  circum- 
stances were  narrated  by  himself,  as  follows: 

"In  1819,  while  in  a  vessel  with  thirty  hands,  about  one  hundred 
miles  off  Cape  Antonio,  we  fell  in  with  a  Dutch  ship  mounting  four  guns. 
We  hailed  her,  but  received  no  answer,  and  then  made  arrangements  to 
board.  She  fired  two  of  her  guns  at  us,  but  missed.  We  carried  her  by 
boarding.  She  had  twelve  -hands  and  eight  or  ten  passengers,  all  of 
whom  were  put  to  death  excepting  a  handsome  young  Dutch  girl,  who 
threw  herself  at  my  feet,  grasping  my  knees  and  begged  me  to  savesher. 
The  greater  part  of  our  crew  were  Frenchmen  and  Spaniards,  and  I 
suppose  that  she  supplicated  me  because,  from  my  appearance,  she 
saw  that  I  was  neither.  I  told  her  that  I  would  save  her  if  I  could, 
and  had  her  taken  down  into  the  cabin.  She  landed  with  us  at  Cape 
Antonio,  which  was  our  place  of  rendezvous.  After  remaining  with  us 
about  three  months,  during  which  time  she  lived  with  me  as  my  mis- 
triss,  she  was  killed  by  mixing  opium  in  her  drink.  I  regret  that  I  did 
not  lose  my  own  life  before  hers  was  taken,  for  I  think  I  loved  her. 
She  was  murdered  from  an  apprehension  that  she  would  get  away  and 


84  THE    TRIAL   AND    OONFEBBIOtf    OP 

inform  against  us.  If  I  could  have  done  so  with  safety,  I  would  have 
lived  with  her  in  any  part  of  the  world,  though  I  consented  to  her 
murder." 

Gibbs  never  spoke  of  this  girl  to  Marshal  Morris  without  manifesting 
emotion.  Her  murder  was  the  only  one  of  his  crimes  for  which  he  ever 
expressed  any  contrition. 

BURIED   TREASURE. 

Scattered  through  the  fragmentary  confessions  of  this  hardened 
criminal  we  find  several  allusions  to  buried  treasure,  amassed  in  his 
nefarious  business,  and  concealed  at  various  points.  Mr.  Morris,  how- 
ever, considers  that  these  stories  were  fabricated,  with  a  view  to  induce 
the  turnkeys  of  the  prison  to  release  him  and  aid  in  searching  for  the 
money.  "  I  have  in  the  West  Indies,  buried  in  specie,"  says  Gibbs  in 
one  part  of  these  confessions,  '*  the  sum  of  $150,000,  and  have  also  in 
the  hands  of  a  person  in  Buenos  Ayres,  who,  I  am  confident,  will  apply 
it  as  I  desire,  $50,000."  In  another  place  he  says  :  "  The  quantity  of 
money  buried  in  different  parts  of  the  West  India  Islands  is  beyond  cal- 
culation. Immense  treasures  have  been  secreted  there  ;  a  great  por 
tion  of  which  will  never  be  found,  those  who  buried  it  having  died  or 
been  lost  at  sea."  In  alluding  to  measures  for  the  suppression  of  piracy, 
Gibbs  said  :  "  The  American  and  other  cruisers  in  the  West  Indies  are 
of  very  little  use  in  the  suppression  of  piracy.  The  pirates  always  know 
where  they  are,  but  they  know  but  little  about  the  pirates.  I  have 
frequented  the  coffee-houses  at  Havana  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
from  American  and  British  officers,  with  whom  I  would  become  ac- 
quainted, where  they  were  going,  in  order  to  avoid  them." 


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